Darkness Eclipsing the Light
by Midnight Hour Blue
Summary: He was summoned to Gotham; she was having nightmares that made her question his departure. Against her pleas he left, only to discover later that he might have made a big mistake not listening to her. His team was absent and he was left to wonder why. Implied StarRob, eventual RobRae
1. Warning Ignored

Chapter 1: Warning Ignored

Raven couldn't help but feel like her recent dreams were plaguing her with some message she couldn't quite comprehend. It wasn't until fairly recently that she realized they weren't just dreams; they were warnings. It was one night when she awoke abruptly, sweat drenched, did she realize it was a vision trying to tell her something.

And then news had cropped up out of the blue that Robin's mentor needed him back home for some reason. That sent up red flags in Raven's mind for some reason but she had a hard time trying to explain it to him exactly. How could she even question the word of the great Dark Knight himself---

Robin had been hastily packing the night before he'd depart with Raven trying one more time to try and warn him about not leaving.

"Rae, I know you get premonitions, and that you mean well, but…this is something I can't question," Robin told her, trying to sound reassuring. "I know his voice too well and I know it was him that made the request. I'm not going to be gone forever I'll be back."

"I don't question that---I'm sure you'd recognize it if there was an imposter trying to fool you," Raven replied. "I just have this sinking feeling that…as soon as you're gone---"

"Rae---everything will be fine," Robin tried once again to sound reassuring. She apparently didn't buy into that. She expressed obvious uncertainty but spoke nothing more of it.

"I---just hope you're right," Raven replied her voice oddly soft toned and harsh. She looked to be suppressing something back but she didn't express it. "And---that I'm the one who is wrong."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He would be gone only a short time---he kept telling himself over and over. He was just checking in to see what he was being summoned for and then he come right back.

At least---that's what he kept telling himself.

Raven had left just a short time ago---leaving Robin to wonder if his decision to leave _really_ was a mistake. Reluctantly against that sense he continued to pack, be prepared to leave when the sun struck the horizons with hues of amber first thing that following morn.

"Maybe Rae's sense of warning is starting to rub off onto me," he told himself aloud. "She could be right but this is something I can't bring myself to question "

He was leaving his team behind---_his team_; Starfire had shared some hints of Raven's hesitance to his departure, while the other two thought nothing more of it.

The two had shown no signs of reluctance to his departure---hell; they'd even wished him well. They obviously would miss his presence---sure, but unlike the girls---

"It must be some female intuition thing or something," he told himself. "Even though it's not like Rae to worry so much about things like this---not exactly _normal_---_"_

He shrugged to himself, letting out a deep sigh.

"I leave first thing in the morning---load up and go," he told himself. "Head out, deal with what I'm being summoned for, and then come right back."

He tried to feel confident about his proclamation, but deep inside he didn't feel so wholehearted about that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She was sure Starfire was up for a restless night---but Raven apparently was up for one of her own. When she'd finally managed to get to sleep, slow her mind enough to shut her eyes and her mind down along with them, her slumber had proven to be fitful---and not at all rewarding.

Her mind restless, unwilling to fall into the thralls of slumber for long---she woke up several times while the skies were still heavily shaded in shadows and darkness. Each moment of interrupted slumber had been set off by a series of dreams she knew all too well weren't _just dreams._ She'd witnessed them all before, except this time the details were more vividly intense than any time before.

She caught the scent of smoldering embers, the sky alight with the bright furious flames caught in ambers and tangerines. It flickered between that sight and darkness, moments not marked with darkness illustrating a scenario she knew she'd truly dread if she ever really witnessed it.

She could oddly physically sense that she had been marked up with lacerations and bruises---something she couldn't quite validate visually, but knew they were there regardless. How she would become injured she couldn't even begin to fathom, although the stench of burning embers and a sky on fire gave off some indications---

She'd awake sweat---drenched and panting, struggling to return to her slumber desperately---and a little shaken.

_Electric blue fires of sparks all around, several instantaneous eruptions of sparks spewing forth one after another for brief moments, one at a time---__coming from severed electrical cords---_

She hadn't been out for long---and she found herself awake yet again.

"How does this all tie together?" she exclaimed exasperatedly. "What does all this even _mean_ anyways? And why does it keep _haunting me?"_

She tried desperately for a third time to get to sleep but the effort turned out to be one made in vain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day that was welcomed in was not overly pleasant---skies overcast with grey drear and a light drizzle falling from above in a light blanketing. It was like even that day held a cautionary tale for the departing team leader.

Robin looked out through the glass panel at the dismal overcast city---feeling himself a bit dreary within. His packed bag rested on the couch; he was waiting just a few moments longer to see if any of the others would show---wish him farewell and good luck before he left.

The day was drawing on, as well was the extending silence. He knew he couldn't stand there and wait forever; he had a long way to go and a determination to make the trip before too many daylight hours had passed him by.

Not able to wait any longer, Robin reached for his satchel with a sigh and began his departure. Just as he was making his exit---entering the compartment of the elevator he turned his attention towards the common room. He caught a brief glimpse of Raven standing there, watching him with solemn eyes. If she was ever going to speak she hesitated long enough to not be given the opportunity. The door to the elevator slid shut---and he was no longer able to see her. He felt the elevator shift and jerk as it readied itself for the descent.

All the while, as it headed downward, he had the sight of her imprinted on his thoughts.

Her eyes watching filled with sorrow she couldn't seem to express

He would recall that imprint long after he got on the road.

He got to the garage---preparing his R-Cycle for the long trip. He secured his satchel and then revved the engine to head out.

As he was speeding out of there he couldn't help but think of what he was leaving behind and the sorrow he caught in Raven's eyes before he left.


	2. Running on Empty Denials

(Author notes at Chapter End)

Chapter 2: Running on Empty Denials

The other three would awake to his absence, knowing not to question it, but that didn't prevent them from having the opportunity to feel concern because of it.

"This day is quite dreary---yes?" Starfire asked Raven as she came to acknowledge her standing besides her, staring out at the dreary overcast city along with her. Raven turned her attention away from the view and towards the inquiring teammate.

"Yes---even for me it is dreary," Raven responded with a nod. "Even more than usual." She turned her attention back towards the view.

"I have to wonder how many miles he has covered in the time since he departed until this very moment," Starfire wondered aloud. Raven didn't turn towards her, continuing to keep her attention focused where it was.

"A few hundred miles at least," Raven said, voice distant. Starfire looked at her in confusion.

"Perchance---how would you come to that estimation?" Starfire asked her. Raven again turned her attention towards her teammate.

"I just know," Raven replied simply.

"Do you still believe that an impending doom is set to befall upon us in Robin's absence?" Starfire asked her. Raven just nodded slightly. "Have you any idea at what kind of doom in particular---what it might be that will strike us while Robin is not here to prevent it?"

"I just keep getting the same brief glimpse of _something_---fire, electrical showers of sparks, and being injured but not exactly what leads to that," Raven replied. "It's all like a scattered puzzle with a few pieces missing. I just know…it's just got me unusually concerned."

"Will this puzzle ever be pieced together?" Starfire asked her. Raven expressed uncertainty.

"I'm not sure." Raven turned her attention to the dismally cloudy scene. "This keeps nagging at my conscience I'm having a hard time deciding whether this feeling is valid, if these dreams are _really warnings_---or if I'm just stressing over Robin's absence for no apparent reason."

"I believe them to be real," Starfire told her. "Your senses of precognition are often correct, and I myself feel that something is amiss as well. I share the same sense of dread as you."

"Was it right to just...let him go then?" Raven turned to question her. "Let him leave?"

"You know Robin," Starfire replied. "If the need to depart was urgent enough, and nothing was there to interrupt---it is very difficult to make him change his mind. It is both a good aspect of him as well as a curse---he is persistent."

"I know that all too well," Raven became distant as she watched the slow moving city in the distance yet again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The trip was quiet, long, and overcast in all meanings of the word. A light drizzle fell upon his shoulders, the cold brisk breeze blasting the exposed skin of his face and arms---the trip felt all that more dreary as mother nature took out her own anger on him for no reason that he could fathom.

Robin reached an exit where he would stop for a time---refill the fuel tank and grab something to eat. He passed a diner on his way from the gas station---it looking inviting enough to stop and check it out.

He had put a few hundred miles down into his trip with a few hundred more to make before it reached nightfall. He knew he wouldn't make the trip in one day but he'd make the best effort to put as much distance in as he could.

The door opened with the ringing of a bell to indicate his entry. The interior of the diner was cozy, quaint---good enough.

A waitress greeted him at the door, showing him to a small booth in the corner and a menu from which to order from. She left him to think over the menu options and attend to other customers. When she returned, he ordered, and she courteously was off again.

A short time later, his meal was delivered to him. He thanked the waitress and then began to eat.

He paid the bill when he was done and was on his way again.

The same dismal day greeted him as he headed onward again. It didn't look like it would let up anytime soon----not even as he put the miles between where he started from and his intended destination.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The day was drawing towards the mid noon hours---remaining dismal and unpleasant all the while. Besides Robin's absence, everything in the tower was going about with the usual, nothing really out of place happening

Raven spent the time trying to meditate---erase the worries from her mind as the light drizzle drenched her shoulders as she levitated in place. The cold breeze kept tugging at her conscious, reminding her of that day's unexplainable sense of misery. It bit at her skin every chance it got; she chose to just ignore it.

_He's a few hundred miles further---_

She had been tracking the distance he put between them and him; it was a gift of hers she couldn't help but use. She could sense how far away he was, how much farther he kept getting as each moment passed---

"I just hope he'll be able to get back in time if something _does_ happen," She said to herself softly.

_When it does happen---_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nightfall set itself on that day fairly fast, Robin realized as the signs of dusk touched heavily on the horizons above. The sky still held that sense of drear with the overcast clouds enveloping the world---the drizzling transitioning over to a light rain.

He pulled over at the next exit, a small town in the middle of nowhere with just a gas station and a few small shops to its name. He found a wayward motel on the edge of the unincorporated village, taking out a tarp to protect his cycle from the elements as he headed towards the motel lobby to inquire about lodging for the evening.

As he used the keycard to enter the premises, he looked around the darkness that was his room for that night. He spied the bed in the middle of the room---heading towards it without hesitating. When he'd spread himself out and was staring upwards towards the ceiling, Raven's warning and the imprint that had been left on him of her as he departed began to encumber his mind.

"Don't worry, Rae---I won't be gone for long," He stated aloud mostly to himself. "There's nothing to worry about."

He wasn't sure if he was trying to rectify the situation by making it seem like it'd be okay, or if he was just trying to reassure himself. Either way---it weighed heavily on his mind as he fought to get some sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The city sure seems awfully quiet," Cyborg observed as he was going about some of his usual tasks in the common room the next morning. "Sure looks like a good time for Robin to get summoned---looks like the villains are playing nice for once."

"It's only been twenty-four hours," Raven reminded him. Cyborg's expression soured. "Anything can happen."

"I wish just for once you'd stop dwelling on the bad stuff, and just be happy with the good," Beast Boy remarked in response. "Yeah---sure, something could happen; there's a fifty-fifty chance of that. But it doesn't always have to be that fifty percent where things end up going sour."

"I'll just keep my mouth shut then," Raven replied, the slight hint of an edge in her voice. She focused her full attention on what she'd been doing---making sure her breakfast was agreeable enough for her. When she'd accomplished the feat, she took it with her and headed out from the room.

She headed up towards her room---seeking peace and solace. Beast Boy's remark had struck a particular nerve, and she needed time to just deal with it without outside conflict.

Not long after she'd taken to her meal did she hear a knock on her door. Half expecting it to be Beast Boy with some further remark---or possibly an apology---she hesitated in answering it.

"I came to see if you are still plagued by that issue of the day before that we discussed." To her relief, it turned out to be Starfire. Raven stopped hesitating and headed towards the door. As she reached for the door, Starfire added, "Are you still, Raven?"

"I'm still being burdened by it," Raven said as she opened the door to her teammate. "Beast Boy's comment also didn't help any."

"I feel the need to apologize for that," Starfire stated. Raven gave her a perplexed look.

"Why do you have to apologize?" Raven questioned. "It's not like you had anything to do with what he said---he's the only one responsible for his own actions, not you."

"I am not sure," Starfire admitted. "Because of his remarking, have you taken to secluding yourself in this room?"

"Only partially," Raven replied. "I needed to be in a place where I could work things out in my mind, and my room's always been the best choice in that regard."

"Do you feel it would be unacceptable for me then to inquire if you would like to burn these worries with an afternoon spent elsewhere---outside this tower?" Starfire asked uncertainly. Raven shook her head slightly in response.

"It only depends on where you're thinking of going," Raven said. "I could use a break for the afternoon otherwise."

"Maybe we could just start out with the wandering of the town," Starfire suggested. "Pick and choose our destinations as we arrive at them. I am also uncertain of any specific place to go---it seems to me to be the most plausible option."

"I guess I could agree to that." Raven turned her attention towards something in her room. "I need just a moment to get ready. How about I just meet up with you in the common room in about fifteen minutes?" She turned her focus back towards Starfire.

"Yes-yes---that would be agreeable," Starfire replied. She stepped away from the doorway. "I will see you in the common room in fifteen." She departed, and Raven closed the door. She wasn't sure if she was _really up_ to going for a walk around town, but she did need _something _to distract herself with, and that was probably one of the better options she had available to her.

She sighed as she looked at her half finished breakfast.

"I guess I'm going to have to eat this hastily," she told herself aloud. She reached for it, looking at it uncertainly. "I just hope I don't choke on it in the process."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Robin hit the rode first thing the next morning, finding he was welcomed by the very same weather he'd spent the whole previous day dealing with. He sighed as he exited the motel lobby---looking up towards the overcast sky unpleasantly.

He struggled to keep his focus on the road---being that he hadn't slept all that well through that evening. The exhaustion was just enough to leave him in a foul humor during most of that day.

He drove on persistently---even if he was exhausted and struggled with his need to stop and rest. He made his usual stops when he needed to, but he otherwise was completely concentrating on the road ahead of him.

His destination wasn't far off---only about an hour's worth of driving left, to his great relief. He reached the outskirts of town in no time--it was battling through congested city streets that extremely slowed him down.

As he was making his way towards downtown, he found himself being pelted by a downpour of ice-cold water droplets. Already a bit irritable, he was now drenched as well. All he could hope was that he wouldn't catch cold from the exposure to the elements as he pressed on.

In the chilly dismal downpour he got stuck in standstill traffic at an intersection. He paid little mind to the cause of the disruption, his mind lingering on the pressing need for it to clear so he could move on. The shouting and cursing all around from displeased drivers pressed him even further into a foul humor, giving him not much thought to even linger on what could be holding things up to disrupt the flow of traffic, or the moods of the other drivers around him.

All he could do was try to block them out as he dealt with the ice-cold droplets that pelted him and gave him a skin deepened chill. He knew his destination was close, very close. Only a few more blocks to slave through---

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two girls returned to the tower later that afternoon with a few bags in tow. Starfire had bought out the whole of the hair accessories department at one store they stopped in. Raven came back with just a few candles and some needed décor for her room.

As they reentered the common room with their bags clasped in their hands, they took note that the expanse was unusually calm and quiet.

"Hey---where'd the guys go?" Raven exclaimed. The two looked around, receiving no definite answer to that.

"Possibly they wandered the town as we have?" Starfire suggested. Raven shrugged.

"Cy has the car---it's possible," Raven replied. "Whether they're here or out---I'm taking this stuff up to my room so I can get it out of the way."

"I as well need to take these new purchases up to my own room," Starfire replied in agreement on her own accord. She departed without another word, carrying her newly acquired loot with her to the elevator. Raven didn't bother to follow her. Instead heading towards the kitchen for something.

As she entered the space, she heard a crash that caught her off guard.

"Odd " she said to herself. "I wonder what that was---"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He knew the secret entrance---he just had to make sure nobody saw him use it. Robin had to wait a bit for the right opportunity, which eventually came.

He found the inner enclosure calm and silent---no signs of any other individuals beside himself wandering the premises. He wasn't sure if he should take that to mean that his mentor was out briefly on some errand, or if it was something else entirely.

_That sinking feeling is starting to get strong again---_

"Hey---is anyone here?" he called out, his voice reverberating through the large expanse. No reply---he tried again. Silence.

"I wonder where he's at---" Robin began searching the premises for answers---there had to be some there somewhere---

The computer displays showed signs of recent activity---tracings of some villain's location shining like a bright beacon on the screen. Just as he was about to investigate it further he heard a voice pleading his name in desperation. Caught off guard and at first thinking he'd heard it out loud, Robin started searching around for the source---until he realized whom the source _really was._

_ROBIN!! _He heard it with clarity, but not aloud. The voice it was in his mind, it was---

"Raven!" Robin exclaimed in shock at his realization. "But why would _she__---"_ That sinking feeling was starting to overwhelm his conscious. "Something's not right." He didn't need physical _visual proof _to confirm that. He just instantly knew.

She had warned him before he left; she knew something was going to happen, something that wasn't good---

"Whether or not I was actually summoned here I---can't stay here while something bad could be happening to my team," Robin told himself. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just stayed here, and something happened to them and I couldn't help stop it." He turned away from the display almost reluctantly, away from the red blinking beacon of some location on a map he didn't have the mind to investigate.

At the time it didn't seem relevant to even investigate it. Later on, he'd wish that he had.

Instead he turned away from it, listening to every hollow footfall he made as he exited the premises and headed back towards his cycle to depart.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She heard another crash and a follow up bang. Raven had to question the origins; were the guys really still at the tower and rough housing _that much_

She abandoned her quest in the kitchen, bringing he bags with her as she went to investigate the source of the noise. Another bang resonated through the common room it obviously coming from above.

She looked upwards. The room fell silent.

"I hope they're not playing around in my room---"

She hastened her steps towards the elevator, caught half in irritation and caution internally. She couldn't figure whether she was going to come upon a scene with a couple of jokers or something that was actually serious.

The elevator crawled up the shaft at an excruciatingly slow rate. The seconds pounded their passing in her head painfully. Before it reached the destined floor, she heard a few muffled crashes coming from just where she was heading. The tension upon those elevator's doors parting was starting to exceed a comfortable level at an increasing rate with each passing moment---

The unanticipated moment finally reached it's climax the elevator doors parted…silent, stillness---odd---

She peered outside the elevator.

"Hello?" she called out. "Who's making that racket---" She received silence in response. "Odd---I thought Star said she was heading up here. Where is she, and why isn't she responding---"

The lights above began to flicker. For a few long moments they blacked out. Eventually they returned to their full function. Which didn't at all make Raven any less uneasy.

There were no follow up crashes, no more disturbance only an eerie, deafening silence. She started to wander the hall cautiously, powers at the ready in case there was a threat she'd need them for.

She hastily made her way to her room, dropping off her purchases and then exiting to investigate the crashes from earlier more extensively.

She rounded a corner, finding nothing down the corridor that followed. The lights began to flicker again.

"What is going on here---"

Before she could fully question it aloud, a shower of sparks erupted from a lighting fixture above her, bathing her in them as the plume fell upon her. In alarm, she brought up a force field around herself just in time. When the shower of sparks ceased their showering on her, she looked up at the fixture for an explanation.

"Hello? Can anyone explain why the lights are shorting?" she called out. She received only more eerie silence. "Star? Are you up here?" No response.

She heard another crash---originating in the vicinity of Starfire's room on that floor. Startled, Raven rushed on over to that location, hoping beyond hope that her friend wasn't caught up in some kind of danger---

A jagged, gaping hole stood where Starfire's door once stood. A cold draft blasted the empty doorway as Raven stood in it, its origins fairly obvious. The place where there once was a glass paned window now housed a large gaping hole to the elements.

There was no sign of Starfire.

"Star?" Raven began to look around, a sense of dread creeping further into her conscious.

_What created that hole---_

Before she could even ponder its origins, she was showered in a wealth of sparks coming from some severed wires protruding from the ceiling above----where a lighting fixture once existed. Too alarmed to react in time, she felt the bite of the sparks as they touched her skin. She tried to make a feeble attempt to shield her face, but while she was distracted with that move, her attention was drawn away from something else---that something catching her off guard and knocking her clear off her feet and into the nearest wall.

Raven crumpled to the floor after she made impact with the wall. It took several moments for her to react making an attempt to get up again. Before she even had the chance she received another blow that slammed her again down to the floor.

She fumbled around in search of her communicator, but came up empty-handed. In desperation, she did the only thing that she could that came to mind---she sent out a mental plea to the only teammate she knew would be able to hear her.

She sent out her desperate plea to Robin. She only hoped that he'd be able to hear her and return before it was too late.

She lost consciousness, slumping to the floor in a heap---battered and bruised, and not understanding why.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**If anyone noticed the first chapter was a jumbled grammatical & punctual mess, many apologies. The original document didn't translate well onto her in story format for some reason. Strangely, I've uploaded chapters in the past with the same formatting without any issues. It wasn't until I went back and reread it (after reading a review about it being a little messy) did I realize it was like that. I went through and _fixed the bugs_, and made sure this next addition was okay was well.**

**For the most part I've got most of this written out. It's mostly going to be re-editing and dealing with this formatting issue that'll put pauses between postings. Hopefully the second chapter is decent, and thanks for reading!**

**~Mara**


	3. Returning to Chaos

Chapter 3: Returning to Chaos

He wasn't sure how he traveled as far as he did on the amount of energy he was surviving off of. Robin only knew he pressed on through the night without even bothering to stop for lodging.

He'd tried his communicator—attempting to get one of his team on the line—nothing but static silence. He only managed to accomplish getting in contact with Titans East. Bumblebee and her team had been oblivious to there being any disturbances involving Cyborg and the others; it had been quiet, no alarms going off to alert them to something being off—

Bumblebee had promised to be there if she or her team were needed—they'd await his signal if the time came. Meanwhile, Robin pressed on, driving through the night with determination overpowering his exhaustion.

He reached the outskirts of Jump City by the evening of the next day. The city appeared to be up to the usual; busy here—peaceful there. Nothing amiss—

He couldn't say the same for the tower when he reached the grounds. Parking the vehicle off to the side, he gazed upward—noticing a gaping hole where a window used to be.

"I'm starting to get a really bad feeling from this—"

He left his cycle outdoors, ignoring the fact that it even existed as he made his way indoors.

The elevator greeted him without any signs of anything amiss—which didn't make the tension any less heavy. He headed into it—pressing the button for the floor where their personal spaces were kept. It climbed upward with an awkward creak and a mind-numbingly slow pace. His nerves were on edge when the doors finally slipped open and the hallway was exposed to him.

Robin cautiously headed out of the compartment and down the eerily silent halls. A few shocks of electric blue plumes lit the way at brief eruptions as he treaded onward. Wiring from above had been ripped clear from the ceiling in spots—he had to watch out for unexpected showers of sparks coming down on him as he passed under them.

The first room he reached was Starfire's. It stood devoid of its usual occupant. Starfire was nowhere in sight—

—But Raven just happened to be there—sprawled out on the floor, badly bruised, battered, and cut up—unconscious. Robin rushed over to his fallen teammate immediately upon spying her lying there—still and unmoving. As he knelt beside her—he realized the injuries were severe—he wasn't sure how long she had left to cling onto—

"Rae," her name came out mournfully. He checked at her temple for a heart rate—it was stable enough, but that didn't exactly mean anything worthwhile—

He carefully scooped her up—hoping there was still a chance he could save her.

Without even hesitating to ponder the whereabouts of the other three—he left the tower, rushing the girl as fast as he could to the help he hoped could save her life.

Robin trudged into the ER, caught almost in a fog. A few individuals had rushed up to him and had carefully taken Raven from his grasp and laid her out on a gurney—wheeling her off to some professionals who could attempt to help her.

Robin recalled watching as they hooked up the machines—the ventilator, the heart rate monitor—to the girl who was his close friend. His mind struggled to grasp just why she needed that kind of attention in the first place—why she was even injured at all—

"We've managed to stabilize her," a doctor took him out of his fog. "It looks like she's got a chance. We're still not sure if she'll awake, but we're feeling hopeful."

"Can I be with her?" Robin asked the doctor. The doctor's eyes were sympathetic.

"Sure," he replied, motioning with his hand. "Follow me—we're moving her to a more private suite for the night. You can stay with her if you feel like it."

"Thanks." Robin said nothing more—only following the doctor in a half daze.

Raven looked eerily peaceful amongst the sounds of beeping hospital apparatuses and scrambling hospital staff. She didn't look bothered by the goings on around her—it was possible she wasn't even remotely aware of it all—

Robin waited by her side—waiting for any signs that she'd revive. She remained still. He couldn't help feeling guilty for the position he'd discovered her to be in, the one she was in now—

"If only I had listened, none of this would've happened." Robin was just starting to recall how silent and still the tower _had been—_how vacant it had been, save for one soul—hers—

"What really happened? What happened to the rest of our friends?" Robin asked her, not expecting an answer. "Are they even still alive?"

She stirred slightly—a small gasping sound catching his attention. Robin looked down at the girl, hoping desperately that it hadn't been a false alarm. When her eyelids began to flutter—his hopes were validated.

"Rae, can you hear me?" Robin asked her as she began to come to. It took her some time to even respond; her mind was muddy and still a bit disoriented as she came to.

"Robin?" Raven's voice came out sounding alarmed. She looked up to him—her eyes caught in a vivid sense of perplexity. "Where—how—?"

"You're—I brought you in when I discovered you unconscious," Robin told her. "We're in the hospital. It's been a long night—you just went through quite the struggle—so did the medical staff that took on your case." He let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad you came to."

"I thought—I thought you were far away, how did you—?" Raven exclaimed. "What made you come back?"

"I heard your cry for help—you're calling out my name—and I couldn't stay away," Robin told her.

"What about—?" Raven began to ask, only to end up coughing a bit before she could even finish.

"That doesn't matter," Robin told her softly. "Whether the call was ever legit or not—I couldn't let my team down and stay away when they were obviously in danger."

"Where—where are the others?" Raven asked him, her voice tinged with worry. "What happened to our friends—Star, BB—Cy?"

"I—don't know," Robin admitted. "I was hoping…when you came to—that you might know."

"I don't," Raven replied regrettably. "I was knocked unconscious before I even got the chance to discover their whereabouts—or what put me in this position to begin with."

"Are you in any pain?" Robin asked with concern.

"I hurt everywhere—it's a miracle I'm coherent enough to even speak to you without it overtaking me," Raven replied, her voice breaking a bit.

"Then I think it would be best if you just rested up for the time being," Robin told her. "Regain your strength—and then we can worry about the others."

"Robin?" Raven inclined herself enough to reach for his hand with one of her own.

"What Rae?" Robin asked her.

"Thanks—for coming back," Raven told him. "For—saving me." Her eyes were caught with restrained tears just welling.

"It was nothing, Raven," Robin stated, taking her hand tenderly between his own two hands. "It was something I just had to do."

* * *

Chapter three is up. A little shorter than the previous. I should get the next (forth) one up by the end of the week. Hopefully this doesn't disappoint.

~Mara


	4. Picking Up The Pieces

Chapter 4: Picking Up The Pieces

While Raven rested under the care of the hospital staff, Robin contacted Titans East again.

"Something's happened to most of my team," Robin was telling Bumblebee over the communicator. "I found Raven badly injured—and the other three have gone missing. Raven's just starting to recover, and—I don't even know what caused all of this, what I can even do about it."

"First off—take care of the teammate you still have, and then go back to the tower to search for clues," Bumblebee suggested. "We can stop in and help you uncover the pieces to your teammates' disappearances. It'd probably be a good idea to send out a signal to all other honorary titans out there to keep an eye out for them—just in case something pops up about them."

"I'd appreciate the help," Robin replied. "When I cut this connection—I'll post an alert to all the others—hopefully one of them will have info about what went down—"

"We can be into town in a few hours," Bumblebee told him. Her expression was one of complete sympathy. "Take care of her, Robin. Until the others' whereabouts are uncovered—she's all you got."

"I planned to," Robin replied. "She warned me that something was up—but I didn't listen. I really should've listened to her."

"Well—that's all in the past," Bumblebee told him. "We'll be with you shortly."

"Okay, Bee," Robin replied, cutting the connection shortly afterward. He then did as Bumblebee suggested—sent out an alert about his missing friends to anyone who could be reached. He then followed that up with putting the device away and rejoining Raven in her hospital room.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Raven had dozed off while he was absent, only beginning to show signs of stirring as he entered. Robin dragged a chair over to the side of her bed and took a seat.

"Robin?" Raven called out weakly. "What have you been up to while I was out?"

"I contacted Bumblebee and her team—and they'll be in town in a few hours," Robin told her. "I also sent out an alert about the other three to anyone else that could get the message in hopes of getting some answers."

"I hope—wherever they are—that the other three are okay," Raven said. "I hope—they're still alive."

"Me too, Rae," Robin replied in agreement. "Me too." He sighed, letting silence fall in a for a moment.

He the turned his attention towards her.

"Do you need the doctors to issue you some meds or anything? Are you still in any pain?" Robin asked her.

"I'm in pain—but I should manage," Raven replied. "You don't have to get the doctors in here for me—I'm fine enough."

"Are you sure?" Robin questioned.

She nodded, replying with a solid, "Yes."

"Can you recall anything that happened before you blacked out?" Robin asked her. "Anything at all?"

"All I can remember is several loud unexplainable crashes, sparks coming from blown light fixtures and severed wiring, and receiving a blow from an unidentified assailant," Raven replied. "Besides that—it's all a blank. I went unconscious before I could even ponder over what had happened."

"I guess I'll just have to search for some clues when we return to the tower and hope for the best," Robin told her. "When do you think you'll be able to go back?"

"I'm not sure Robin," Raven replied uncertainly. "I don't even know if I'm completely okay or if I'm more injured than I can acknowledge at the moment."

"I'm not going to rush you to get better," Robin assured her. "You need the time to heal—you took quite a beating back there when I came across you."

"I just hope it won't be too much time," Raven replied darkly. Her eyelids all of sudden began to feel heavy; she stifled a yawn. Robin noticed she looked weary—observing each indication carefully.

"I think maybe you could use some rest," Robin noted to her. He gently forced her to lie back in a position that would allow her to rest comfortably. A flash in her eyes suggested she wanted to resist—but she physically complied without question.

"If I doze off when Bumblebee and her team show up—just take them back to the tower and leave me here so that you can investigate for clues to our friends' whereabouts," Raven told him. "See if there's any signs of what might have happened."

"Are you going to be okay here all alone?" Robin asked her with concern. She nodded firmly.

"Leave my communicator by my bedside—just in case, and I should be fine otherwise," Raven told him. "I can't help out right now—and it's not like we have the time to waste in finding our teammates. For all we know…we might not have much time at all." The expression that crossed her weary and injured face was grim. "Plus—you can't have Bee's team waiting around here while there's other things needing to be done."

"I'll wait out in the hall so that you can rest then," Robin said. "So that—if they show up and you're out—we won't disturb you."

She looked like she wanted to protest that statement—but she clearly understood; she didn't speak a word against it.

"Okay." Was all that Raven said instead. Her eyelids started to sag and become heavier, and it wasn't long before her exhaustion overcame her. Robin watched over her as she became peaceful in a deep slumber. After several drawn moments of silence in regards to her—and not overall silence, for that was near impossible in a busy hospital like that one was—he got up and silently, carefully made his way out towards the hall. Where he would wait.

Not knowing just how long he'd wait—he just knew that was the only option.

XoXoXoXoXoX

A loud crash, a thud—the sound of a body impacting against a more solid surface—a wall maybe—or a computer display—

The sounds were constant and fluid—the visuals complementing with them erratic and shattered. A flash here—a segment there, nothing long enough to even make sense.

—Shattering glass—loud thuds of heavy objects being tossed, probably pieces of furniture—electricity spurting forward from newly severed wiring—shouts, cries…_screams_—

Cyborg—taking to his battle stance—ready to make that one last strike that would escape him—

Beast Boy—baring the teeth of a great beast at something out of view—one last challenge—

Starfire—surprise written all over her face as she came upon an unidentified intruder as she returned to her room, barely having a moment to draw the green glow into her fists to strike with—

Flashes of their following struggles—battles, and then…gone.

Gone.

A shadowed calling card had been left on the scene, but it was too deeply ingrained into the shadows to be identifiable. It existence left an imprint of mystery.

Had Starfire even been there when Raven had went looking for her? Or had she already met that mysterious fate long before Raven had ascended up in the elevator to investigate?

Why had she been spared a disappearing act? She had to wonder that even as the segments of visions and bits of audio continued—a jumbling of a weird home movie all mashed together to take away the comprehension of its entire meaning.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Robin periodically checked on Raven as he waited—making sure she was sleeping peacefully. Eventually Bumblebee and Titans East would show themselves—along with a few others.

"How is she doing?" Bumblebee asked as she approached Robin.

"She's resting right now. The attack made on her took a lot out of her," Robin replied somberly.

"Have you gone back to investigate what happened at all since you discovered your teammate injured?" Speedy spoke up, his expression all-serious. Robin frowned and indicated no with a shake of his head.

"I haven't left the grounds of the hospital since I brought her in," Robin replied. "I was too occupied worrying about her to even think about leaving her."

"Well—it looks like she's resting peacefully now," Aqualad made a point of observation—looking in through the door briefly. "You shouldn't have to worry too much about her for the time being at least."

Robin just nodded gravely. He took note of the rest in attendance: Mas y Menos standing side-by-side, Jinx standing in the company of Kid Flash. The last two were just stragglers—not part of Titans East.

Robin hesitated to say anything else. Eventually he psyched himself up enough to speak.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving her here alone just yet," Robin noted. "Would it be too much to ask somebody to stay here by her side while the rest of you follow me back to the tower to start the search for clues?"

"I'll stay behind and watch over her for you," Aqualad volunteered. "I'll keep in contact with you in case something is up while you're gone."

"I appreciate that," Robin said to him gratefully. To the others present, he said, "Ready to go search through the carnage for clues?"

They all just silently noted their response with quick nods. As they were getting ready to leave the premises of the hospital grounds, Robin turned back to check in on Raven one last time.

"Keep an eye on her," Robin told Aqualad. "Make sure nothing happens to her. Right now—she's all I have."

"Understood," Aqualad replied. "You better get going—if you intend to get the answers to what happened to her in the first place—as well as the rest of your team for that matter."

Robin nodded silently, and then followed the rest of Bumblebee's team out the door.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Chapter four has been posted, and before the end of the week is over I'd add. I'm hoping this is still up to par with the first three chapters thus far; thanks for all the story alerts, faves and reviews thus far. Titans East will have more of a presence in the future (Not the whole story). Anyways, I hope this is a good week ender, and...enjoy!

~Mara


	5. Mystery of The Team of 5

Note: This one's a little longer than the last couple have been. But then—it's been a little longer between publishing the last chapter and this one than any of the others. Hopefully the length (or the content) might help make up for the delay.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5: Mystery of The Team of 5

The overhead lights kept shorting, exposed and severed wires spurting sparks every few minutes. Besides that activity—the place was pretty dead.

"Looks like there was a bit of a conflict going on in here," Bumblebee observed as she watched yet another shower of sparks emerge from a nearby set of exposed wires. The furniture around them in the common room was in disarray—Bumblebee focusing on the big screen TV in specific. "That's got to be tough to have to end up replacing a flat screen like that one."

"To cover more ground—I think it might be a good idea to split up and search," Robin suggested, glancing around dismally at his trashed home. "Why didn't I see all this damage when I first entered?"

"Probably because you were focused on finding one of your teammates alive at the very least," Bumblebee said. "I think they mean more to you than any of this trashed furniture."

"Yeah, that's probably it." Robin looked around the premises solemnly. _Where in hell did the rest of my team go in this chaos?_

"How about Mas y Menos search the bottom floor, Jinx and Kid Flash take this floor, Speedy checks out the roof, and you and me search the floor where you all have you private quarters?" Bumblebee suggested to Robin. "I figure since this is your home—you'd be most comfortable being the one to search that space."

"Sounds reasonable," Robin replied. "Everyone—while you're searching, remember to pay close attention to anything that could even be slightly amiss. Anything could be a valuable clue."

"We'll leave no stone unturned," Speedy promised him. "We're gonna ransack this place looking for answers—don't you worry about that."

"Here's hoping this place isn't already pre-jinxed," Jinx commented. "Don't need the walls crumbling in while we're searching through this dump. I like to create my own bad luck—not have it created for me by something else."

Robin couldn't bear to even comment; he just looked all around him at the mess that used to be the common room. He wallowed in his inner melancholy until he felt a reassuring hand rest on his shoulder.

"We'll find you some answers to what happened here." It was Bumblebee's hand that had found itself on his shoulder. She expressed reassurance—glimmers of hope present on her face when he turned to acknowledge she was there. "We should get to looking. The sooner we get to work—the sooner we can get answers to finding your team."

Robin nodded his agreement, not saying a word in response to her. He didn't smile—nor did he frown. His expression remained mostly nondescript.

"Let's get moving then," Robin stated, acting as authoritative as he could possibly muster. "See if we can find anything. If anyone finds anything vital—just contact me via the communicator. I'll be there to check it out in a heartbeat."

XoXoXoXoXoX

The trip up towards his friends' private quarters was the longest he'd ever made in his life. It seemed like the elevator was moving up at an excruciatingly slow rate, which really was rubbing Robin's nerves raw. Finally, the cart came to a halt with a jerk—the doors shooting open at an alarmingly faster speed than the elevator itself had traveled.

"This floor looks about as worse for wear as the main floor was," Bumblebee observed aloud. "Only difference being is that it's darker up here than it was down there."

"Yeah." Robin looked ahead of him—trying to decide which direction to head down.

"So—where should we start?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Probably where I discovered Raven unconscious," Robin replied. "Star's room."

"It's as good a place as any," Bumblebee replied with a shrug.

They traveled on in silence—the only real noise being the shorting overhead lighting and sparks spewing forth from severed wiring. Through the silence—and what was feeling more like a labyrinth by the minute—they finally reached their destination: Starfire's abode.

"Is that your friend Raven's blood pooled on the floor there?" Bumblebee inquired—indicating a dried blood-spot on the floor in one corner. Robin nodded solemnly.

"She was pretty battered up when I came across her in here," Robin stated. "I'm just very glad that she survived."

"I'm sure you are." Bumblebee walked over towards the bloodstain, searching for anything she could deem useful. "I'm not seeing anything useful right near where your teammate fell; maybe it'd be good to fan out from this spot outward." She began to slowly move away from that spot—closely examining the floor as she moved about for any clues she could come across. She was just reaching Starfire's overturned bed when she bent closer to the floor—as if to suggest she might have found something. "Hey, Robin—come over here and look at this, tell me what you think of it."

"Did you find something?" Robin asked her. She nodded. "What?"

"Just come over here and see for yourself," Bumblebee told him. He didn't question it further, just complying with her request silently and heading over to where she was.

"Does this look like something you'd recognize?" Bumblebee pointed down towards something lying on the ground. Perplexingly, Robin bent down to examine it closer up. From a distance, it had looked like just a piece of scrap fabric; up close, it looked much more like something he knew the identity of.

—Or at least had some idea of it anyways.

It was two distinctly different pieces of fabric—or something he'd mistaken for fabric at first. The genuine piece of fabric was a fuchsia hue—probably a scrap of Starfire's outfit. The other piece that had found itself mingled in with that fuchsia scrap was metallic—a reddish hued shard that almost looked like it belonged to a piece of armor of some sort.

Robin _knew_ what the metal shard had possibly come from; the sensation of realization left him feeling very unsettled inside.

"It looks like it's possibly Slade's doing," Robin stated bitterly. "This piece—this metallic shard—it looks like a piece off of his armor. He must've received some damage during the struggle with one of my teammates at the very least."

"What do you think he'd want with your team—and why would he come in here to trash the place?" Bumblebee inquired curiously.

"Slade doesn't need any motivation—he just needs the right opportunity," Robin replied, embittered.

"Does this give us any explanation to what could've become of your teammates—where they might be at?" Bumblebee asked him.

"Unfortunately—it doesn't." Robin bent down and picked up the metal shard, staring at it with rising contempt. "It only explains a small piece in a much larger puzzle."

His communicator suddenly decided to go off. Startled at first by the unexpected noise, he clumsily reached for the device and activated it.

"Did you come across something?" Robin asked Jinx—who happened to be on the other end of the line.

"Yeah—I'd say we stumbled on something pretty telling," Jinx replied. "You might want to get down here and look at this for yourself."

"We'll be right down there," Robin replied. He closed his communicator. "It looks like Jinx and Kid Flash might've come across something on the main floor."

XoXoXoXoXoX

The elevator's descent moved at a much faster pace than it's descent earlier. Robin and Bumblebee were down and meeting up with Jinx and Kid Flash in a matter of time that seemed just a flicker.

"What did you find?" Robin asked the two of them. Jinx led him up to a spot—bending down to examine something up closely, getting up and pointing down to where she'd just been examining.

"Looks to me like some kind of calling card," Jinx stated. "I think I can get an idea of who left it—but I'll leave that conclusion up to you to decide." She pointed one slender finger downwards towards the floor. Robin without question walked up to where her finger indicated, bending over to get a perspective of it for himself.

"Looks like Slade's been here," Robin spoke bitterly as he picked up the _S_ embossed metallic disk.

"I figured that's who that's from," Jinx noted. "So—any idea what he'd want with your team—and leave one of them behind like he did?"

"I don't know," Robin said bitterly. "Unless it some kind of message from Raven's father that she was left behind and the others taken—that Slade's worked out some deal with that demon yet again—I'm only grasping at straws for the answers right now, because if that's not it—I'm at a loss for any kind of answer to that."

"I always knew that girl was a little dark on the inside," Jinx commented. "So—what do you want us to do, keep scouring this place for more pieces to this puzzle for you?"

"It's all we can do," Robin replied. "Without Cy here, I can't rebuild this place—and I can't even think to rebuild when everything could be a potential clue."

"After we pick up all the pieces that we need—we can all help you rebuild," Bumblebee told him. "I have an inkling of knowledge at least to how Cy would go about reconstructing this place—technologically speaking anyways. We wouldn't want you or your remaining teammate living in the dark until Cy returns—now would we?"

"I'll take any help I can get right now—especially for Raven's sake," Robin replied. He noticed the sun was setting on a blood red horizon—through the view of shattered glass windowpanes cut jagged, glittering with hues that gave the appearance of blood droplets—"It's getting close to dusk, so we don't have much time to search the premises before it gets too dark. Considering the lighting and the electricity aren't working properly enough to give us light to see by when it gets dark…we should get what we can while we still can."

"I'd give it about an hour before we should call it quits," Bumblebee agreed. "We'll return first thing in the morning and start as the sun rises—sound good?" She looked at Robin expectantly for an answer. He nodded solemnly in agreement—his mind bogged down by too many thoughts of concern for the welfare of his missing friends, and for the teammate that was hospitalized at that very moment.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The shadows danced all around. It was almost as if they had a physical presence of their own—

"Hello? Anyone there?" The shadows continued their dance—gaining even more substance in their fluid darkness. She looked around, watching them with caution—

_Were the shadows actually—alive?_

Something completely out of nowhere took a jab at her—sending her flying.

_This seems so familiar—_

Quick flashes—glimpses of what were the remnants of Starfire's room. Another jab made from the fabric of the shadows. Pain shooting up her shoulder as it connected harshly with the wall she'd been thrown clear into—

_Is there actual substance to the shadows? Is it possible they're—alive? Or have the physical presence of something that is?_

She wasn't very clear on that; the shadows blocked too much from her perspective to give her a clear enough view to determine if it was the shades attacking her—or just something caught deep in their depths that was doing all the work—

She heard a voice—as clear as day—one she hadn't recalled before, conveying some message to her in particular—

"_They want you; your friends will be bargaining chips until they get just what they want, remember that—"_

Raven felt the nerves of her shoulder still aflame from the impact she'd made against that wall. Even as the pain became excruciating—she'd tried one last time to get back up—fight whoever it was that had struck her down to begin with—

She hadn't even gotten very far before she'd been knocked clear to the floor again. She'd never caught a glimpse of her attacker to identify him—all she was recalling for the first time was a smug voice saying things to her—

"_Remember this Raven—they can only be free if they get what they want—you."_

The words imprinted on her conscious as everything seemed to fade to black—vision blanking to nothing.

_Just like she had when she'd lost consciousness before Robin had returned—to find the tower a mess and their friends gone—_

XoXoXoXoXoX

"Robin?" Raven exclaimed as she came to. She looked around still trying to grasp her full awareness of the world around her. She could hear the wheels of carts moving down the hall, feet shuffling just beyond her hospital room's door—

"He's still out." A voice reassured her, one she knew was familiar—but also knew well wasn't Robin. She turned her gaze directly towards the side of her bed—noticing Aqualad there for the first time.

"H-how long have you been here?" Raven asked him. "And—where's Robin?"

"He and the rest of Titans East went back to your tower to investigate it for clues to what happened to you and your friends—and I promised to stay here and watch over you, just in case you needed somebody here," Aqualad told her. "I've been here for a couple hours."

His dark eyes watched her—waiting for some response from her, she didn't know. She couldn't help but recall that she'd awoken from a dream—a dream she knew well was recollections from the attack that had landed her there in the first place—had sent Robin searching for clues back at the tower—their home caught in uncertain chaos—

The memory of the inflammation to the nerves of her shoulder was still so fresh in her mind that she could still feel the pain that had been inflicted fairly distinctly. Recollections of material shades were vivid to her conscious—even more so words that had been ingrained so deeply she'd lapsed on recalling them previously.

_They want you, Raven. In exchange for your friends, they want you—_

She could vaguely recall hearing that voice someplace before—it was familiar to her somehow. She couldn't quite place it yet, but she knew she _knew _whom it belonged to—

The words that voice had spoken made absolutely no sense; _who wants me? Who would take my friends—and need me in exchange for them?_

"Can you contact Robin for me?" Raven asked Aqualad, his dark eyes still watching her—observing her, unbiased.

"Did you need him for something?" Aqualad asked her.

"I need to talk to him about something," Raven replied. "So—could you?"

"Yeah, sure—no problem," Aqualad replied. Raven watched him as he grabbed her communicator from nearby and tried making contact with Robin for her. As she watched him, she couldn't help recalling the crush she'd had on him some time back. What _had _she been thinking then—

If she didn't already have enough on her mind right then—she'd probably be blushing from recalling that fact. He was—she found—_still_ crush-worthy—

"Robin's ready to speak to you now," Aqualad had the communicator held out right in front of her—she was just recalling that fact when his voice had knocked her out of her thoughts. Hesitantly, she took it from him and held it.

"Is something the matter?" it was Robin's concerned voice coming from the other end. His appearance was somber and rugged—add the worry she could sense was coming from him for her just then—

"I had a dream," Raven replied. "At least—a dream with more significance than a normal dream anyways."

"What happened in it?" Robin asked her.

"What I can recall happening to me before I was knocked out cold," Raven replied. "Something about shadows with substance taking jabs at me—and a voice that told me something, something I can't quite make sense of."

"Do you recognize who the voice belonged to?" Robin asked her. "And—can you tell me what the voice said to you?"

"It seems familiar—but I can't place it," Raven told him. "It told me…_they_ want me, and—that our friends were taken as bargaining chips just to exchange them—for me."

"That sounds pretty serious," Robin's expression was pretty grim. "Would you describe that voice as sounding very similar to Slade's by chance?"

"Slade?" Raven exclaimed. "Did you find clues that he might've been involved—?"

"He left a very distinctive calling card," Robin noted bitterly. "So—does the voice in you dream—_recollection—_sound anything like Slade by chance at all?"

"Now that I think about it—yes, it does," Raven replied, getting a sinking feeling just then. "What could he possibly need _me_ for?"

"Rae—I haven't the fainted idea," Robin replied grimly.

"I have to wonder who he kept referring to as he spoke to me then—who are _they?"_ Raven stated as she spoke to him. He apparently had no clue—it was written all over his face.

"I guess that's something we'll have to learn about in order to discover the whereabouts of our friends," Robin told her. "We'll be concluding our search of the tower in a few. It's going to be too dark in a bit to keep it up—since the electricity is on the fritz and isn't exactly being reliable right now. So—I'll be seeing you again shortly. Is there anything here you wanted me to bring back with me when I return?"

"A few things from my room if it's possible—a change of clothes, that sort of thing," Raven replied.

"I'll see to it that I remember to get that before we leave," Robin told her. "I'll see you shortly. Take care until then."

"I will, Robin." Raven cut the connection. "I will."

* * *

Thus concludes #5. I'm hoping this is up to par; it's been rather quiet on the alerts front lately, so I don't know if I've been keeping up the charm with each chapter—or if the more recent have been letdowns. I'd love to hear where this story currently stands either way. Remember though—be constructive. Nobody appreciates insults.

I'm hoping to get #6 up by the end of the week. Starting Friday, I'll be out of town for something for a couple weeks, so it might be a little delayed beyond that point.

Anyways, hope you all are enjoying where this story is going, and Happy Memorial Day to all you out there who celebrate it!

~Mara


	6. Question of Shades

Chapter 6: Question of Shades

Dusk was just on its way to arriving—to set in the oncoming nightfall that would leave everything in the tower in utter darkness. The teens that were wrapping up their investigation at the tower managed to scrounge up a few usable flashlights—putting them to good use to get the last details in order before they departed.

Bumblebee's team and the extra stragglers couldn't help but feel uneasy as the shadows shifted unusually around them—appearing as if to have a presence of their own. The speed-demon twins Mas Y Menos made a few nervous mumblings in Spanish as the group made its last observations for the evening.

"Is it me, or is there something about the shadows that seems off?" Speedy noted as the group trekked one last time through the private quarters of the tower. "It seems, I don't know—like they're alive or something."

"I noticed the same thing when I heard the twins mumbling nervously about it in Spanish," Bumblebee replied. "I'm not sure if it's just our eyes playing tricks on us or something—but it sure does raise those creepy vibes up a notch or two."

"Even more reason to close up this investigation for the evening," Speedy stated. He turned to Robin, asking, "So—we just have to grab something for your teammate and then we can call it a night?"

"That's pretty much the plan—regardless of whether the shadows freaked us into making that decision or not," Robin replied. He indicated with one raised finger. "Her room is just this way. We'll get in, get out—and be on our way."

"What're we looking for in particular for her?" Jinx spoke up. "Blue cloaks, some other bits of her rather blah wardrobe—amongst other things?"

"Whatever I can find, I guess," Robin replied. "I'm not sure if her room is intact or not—I haven't been up here to be sure. One word of caution—her room has a few pieces of décor that might take you by surprise if you're not expecting it."

The rest of the trek was made in silence—outside of shuffling feet. They reached Raven's room—the door barring their entry, still standing there solidly and intact.

Robin opened the door and entered the dark expanse. Only Jinx bothered to follow him in. The rest of them decided to stay put instead.

Robin grabbed up what he could that he felt she might need. He was pleasantly surprised that her room had remained undisturbed—unlike so much else in the tower. Beside the fact that any lighting in the room wouldn't be operational for apparent reasons—the place looked as it usually would—minus it sole occupant of course.

"Spooky literature," Robin heard Jinx comment. He noticed her standing before a bookshelf in one corner, running a flashlight over the spines of every book she spotted shelved there. "Spells, enchantments, regular old novels—the girl sure keeps an interesting little library in her quarters." She turned her rose hued cat-like eyes towards Robin. "Hey—do you think she'd appreciate it if we brought her one of these things—to keep her busy until you can at least get this place up and livable again?"

"I'm sure she would," Robin replied after he had a moment to think it over. He stood beside Jinx at the shelving, getting a good look at it for himself. He grabbed a title in particular and stashed it in the knapsack he'd brought up with him along with everything else he'd already put inside it. Jinx looked at him rather peculiarly, her rose hued eyes narrowed.

"Why'd you take that one off the shelf in particular?" Jinx asked him.

"It's a personal memento of hers I know she prizes in particular," Robin replied. He looked around—trying to decide whether there was anything he needed to retrieve. "What else would a girl need from her room for a long visit away from home—any ideas?"

"You're asking me?" Jinx exclaimed, eyes wide. "Well—I'd guess whatever she needs that she can't survive without. She's your teammate—you should know this enough to make up your mind on that on your own."

"I _should_ know that." Robin knew he should've. Raven wasn't sentimental—nor was she one who couldn't survive without a few things for a few days. She wasn't like other girls who _needed_ things—she's always been content enough not _needing_ those same things—

"So—you gonna grab a few more things for this girl, or are we done in here?" Jinx questioned. Robin looked around a few times—observing the surroundings alight with the glow of two flashlight beams.

"I think—we've got all we need for tonight," Robin replied. "I don't think there's anything else Raven would want me to grab that I haven't already."

"Then let's get done in here and call it a night." Jinx took one last chance to glance around at the décor long and hard. "She's got interesting taste—I'll give her that."

"Yeah," Robin agreed, slinging the knapsack over his shoulder. "She does."

XoXoXoXoX

Raven was resting when Robin and Bumblebee's team returned. She stirred when the sound of footfalls and the scraping of the door against the linoleum caught her awareness and abruptly roused her from her slumber.

"How are you feeling?" Robin asked her as he took a seat in a chair beside her bed. She wearily looked up to him; a small yet contented smile emerging ever so slowly on her face.

"Tired and sore," Raven replied, her voice a bit sleep choked still—a bit of a catching rasp, which she made an attempt to clear. "They've been in with a gamut of painkillers that have helped some—but also left me a bit groggy."

"That's what they're there for," Robin told her. He set the knapsack he'd brought back with him on the bed before her. "Here's some of the things you asked for—plus a few things I grabbed on an impulse. I'm not sure if I got all of what you wanted, but I made a concerted effort at least."

"All I really asked for was a change of clothes—anything extra will be a bonus," Raven replied. There was a long pause. Nobody bothered to speak; Bumblebee's team hung out in the corner of the room or were stragglers lingering in the hallways, Aqualad—who'd been Raven's watcher for the duration of Robin's absence—stood silently off to the side nearby, just watching and waiting around. Raven bothered to break the silence after such a long pause—after taking the moment to observe the surroundings and everyone that just happened to be a part of them. "So—did you manage to put any pieces together that you didn't tell me about over our communicator conversation?"

"All I can gather in all of this is that Slade was there, and our teammates are missing—and he's probably at least partially responsible for their disappearances," Robin told her. "It'll be a while before the tower will inhabitable again—at least, comfortably anyways. The electricity's completely out—and at night it's pitch black. Taking into thought that there's a draft coming in through the broken windows, and the fact that the power's out—so the place can't be heated when it cools down in the evening—" He paused, looking at her directly. "In your condition, I don't think it'd be good to go back to living there until the power can be restored and the windows replaced at the very least. I'm not sure where we'll have to stay in the meantime, but—right now the tower isn't fit to be called home." His expression became more solemn, over toned with a sense of melancholy. Raven rested one hand on his as a sign of reassurance.

"We'll just—have to make do for the time being," Raven said to him. "It'll be a couple days at least before I can leave this place, and after that—we'll figure it out."

"We'll stay in town as long as you need us to—and if you feel you ever need to—we can keep you up in Steel City until things get worked through," Bumblebee offered. "We're not gonna leave you two stranded. If Cy were to ever find out that I'd do something like that—he'd for surely give me a piece of his mind—plus some."

"Thanks Bee," Robin said to her, he then turned to Aqualad—who'd been silently observing their conversation—and added, "Thanks for keeping a eye on Raven for me as well. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Aqualad replied simply.

"It's getting late," Bumblebee spoke up. "We should be going—let the two of you have a chance to be alone for the evening—so that you can rest and cope. I'm pretty certain you both could use it. It's been a long day for ya after all."

"Are you staying nearby?" Robin asked her.

"We've managed some decent lodging not too far away," Bumblebee replied. "Don't worry yourself over us—we'll keep in contact with you. You know how to get in contact with us if the need should arise."

"I'll contact you all first thing in the morning to start where left off," Robin told her. "Keep your communicator handy —just in case."

"Will do—boy wonder," Bumblebee replied. She turned her attention towards Raven. "Hope you feel better in the morning."

"Thanks," Raven replied. Bumblebee nodded, and then she led her team out the door—closing it behind her.

"Where are you going to sleep?" Raven asked Robin. He looked at her, shrugging.

"Probably right here," Robin concluded, indicating the chair he was currently sitting in. "It's the only option—and I'm not exactly about to abandon you here and go elsewhere. We're the only remaining members of the team—we need to stick together."

Raven didn't show any signs of disagreeing with him. Instead, she just smiled faintly and silently nodded.

XoXoXoXoX

She had drifted off eventually; she recalled he was still fairly alert, as the fog upon her had set in. With a start—Raven awoke from her state of drift, becoming fully aware of her surroundings with full force.

She caught bits and pieces of hushed conversations held in the hall, the occasional sound of a cart being wheeled on through past that same door that barred her room from that hall. She turned her attention towards the side, focusing on Robin there. Apparently sometime after she had drifted off, so had he. She could hear him breathing soundly—even and consistent of one caught in the throes of slumber.

The simple display clock read an hour that was still late—even with all the indications of activity in all the reaches the hospital. She found no need to stay awake and alert, fighting instead to reclaim the world of slumber for her own.

Eventually she accomplished that goal; not even the sounds of the hospital could keep her from it.

XoXoXoXoX

Silence and darkness at first, and then—the fluttering of eyelids as one came to awareness—

The world was not as it should have seemed. There were no constant noises associated with those of a hospital setting; the setting wasn't even visually a match. The world that was being seen was silent and still—dark and bleak.

She then realized she wasn't viewing the world through her own eyes—she was seeing it though another's.

A different body, _a different mind—_

She felt the sensations of whoever's eyes she saw through—disorientation from what was perceived to be the result of being knocked around before falling into unconsciousness, the sense of muscular soreness to back up that claim—the apprehension of one coming to and not knowing what to expect as they did.

The host from whom she viewed the world through blinked a few times to adjust their sight. When the blinking stopped, the world appeared to be drab—devoid of the luxuries of the simplicities of life. It was shapeless, wasted—deep in hungered shadows. Even she had to admit it was dreary—

The shadows seemed almost alive, ready to envelop the host she saw through—

—The set of eyes aimed downward toward her host's crouched knees. She realized who she shared those eyes with—whom she was seeing through the eyes of.

_Starfire._

It was Starfire's eyes she was seeing through. It was Starfire who saw a dark void all around her, felt the tension of those ever-lingering shadows closing in on her. Starfire who started to feel more frightened with each passing moment—particularly of those shades that closed in around her, the _living shadows_—

_Why must I be kept captive amongst these shades?_ Raven could hear her thoughts. She saw life lingering within the shadows as Starfire watched them with worry. _The shadows...are alive—_

Raven got a sense of hostility from within the darkness caught within the shades themselves. She got the sense that there was some intelligence in those shadows—almost a living human-like conscious. Like the shadows themselves held actual sentient life in their fabric—

Starfire was very uneasy—Raven could very well sense that. What was it about those shadows that held such malice that her friend felt so much fear just from them being present? Shadows were just shadows—they couldn't hurt anything—

Yet—even with that fact still lingering in her own conscious—Raven couldn't help but feel that Starfire's apprehension was valid; she wasn't blowing it out of proportion. There really _was _something odd about how those shadows shifted; they made Raven a little uneasy as well.

_Where are you?_ Raven couldn't help but wonder to herself. _What dark void are you trapped in—and where are the other two?_

"I just wish—to go home," Raven heard Starfire form the words aloud. To whom she was speaking—if there was even anyone there to listen—she couldn't spy him or her in the vast emptiness from which Starfire saw from her perceptive view.

"That won't be a possibility any time soon." The voice came from nowhere, almost as if it was disembodied. The only thing that gave it any merit that it belonged to a physical being was the fact that it was familiar.

Raven couldn't help but feel the anger boil up in her. Starfire on the other hand was too caught up in her apprehension over the shadows to share the same feeling. She knew the voice—_should feel anger about it as well—_but she was afraid, _petrified_.

The fear those shades held over Starfire kept her from having the ability to house anger against the one who'd taken her hostage—Slade.

XoXoXoXoX

_Starfire—_

Raven awoke with that name clearly imprinted on her mind as she came to. The so-called _dream_ she recalled with vivid clarity; she could even recall—with great detail—all of the senses Starfire had portrayed in the dream-like vision—

As she had recollections of that _dream,_ she also recalled where she was, what had brought her there in the first place—and whom she just happened to have camped up with her.

"Robin?" Raven had noticed he was still out, head bent at a downward angle and breathing even and consistent with one still caught up in slumber. Her voice calling out his name alerted him, bringing him immediately out of his slumber and half consciously looking up towards her.

"Rae—something up?" Robin asked her groggily. "Do you need something?"

"Nothing's wrong," Raven told him reassuringly. "I just woke up myself. There is something I think I should tell you though—a dream I had during the night."

"Are you having nightmares?" Robin asked her. She shook her head. "Something else?"

"It was about Starfire," Raven told him. "Thing is—this _dream _wasn't really a _dream—_it more like a vision. It was like I was actually seeing through her eyes—wherever she happened to be. What I saw through her eyes was bleak, dark and devoid of much of anything. It was heavily kept in shadows, and I got a very real sense that she was afraid of those shadows, like they were alive somehow—menacing. Like she feared they might hurt her—like they were actually capable of doing so."

"Really?" Robin said. "While we were finishing up at the tower last night—some of Bumblebee's team was feeling uneasy because of something eerie about the shadows as they were closing in and it got dark. I thought it might be a trick of the light—or lack of it. I wonder if there might be a connection."

"I don't know," Raven admitted. "I don't recall anything odd about the shadows that day—but I wasn't conscious long enough to observe any peculiarities about them. All I can say for certain is that I'm pretty certain Slade's involved in this."

"What makes you certain he is?" Robin asked her. "Was he in the vision of yours with Star?"

"Only his voice was—and only for one spoken line," Raven replied. "I didn't see him—and Starfire never looked up towards him to give me the opportunity to. She was too afraid of the shadows to even bother really being aware of him being there at all."

"Any indications to where we could find her?" Robin asked her hopefully. Raven only shook her head and looked at him grimly.

"I didn't recognize where she was," Raven told him. "I don't think I know of a place that resembles wherever she is. For all I know—it might not even exist in our physical plane. It could be someplace else entirely."

"That's not good," Robin replied somberly. Raven looked at him with solemn eyes.

"No—it isn't." Raven tried to be a bit more reassuring. "But—that doesn't mean us ever finding them is hopeless."

"You're right there, Rae, I'm never gonna give up the hope that we'll eventually find them—and free them from wherever Slade's holding them captive," Robin replied.

"Do—do you think your mentor might know anything about their whereabouts, or would it be something to at least ask him about this—why he summoned you in the first place even?" Raven spoke up after a long pause between the two. He looked at her with alarm. He faltered when he managed to give her a reply.

"I'm not sure if he'd be of any help, but—I do have a nagging curiosity about just _why _he summoned me when he did; I never got the answers when I arrived." Robin pondered over the thought, mulling it over in his mind. "It might be worth making a return trip to get the answers to that. But not now—not when you're still here, injured."

"Do you think you can take me with you when you _do_ return there to get those answers?" Raven asked him. "I don't think I could stand to be left behind yet again—after what happened to the other three. I think…it would be smart to stick together for the time being—until we can find them at least."

"But—what about your injuries?" Robin exclaimed, his expression raw with deep concern held in her regard. "Would you be able to handle the mode of transportation I'd rely on to get there in your condition? Are you even going to be able travel—like this?"

"I of course meant when I was well enough to do so—when the injuries have healed enough to not bother me," Raven assured him. "And, Robin—I'm not as injured as you might think. I tend to heal faster than most. For the most part…I've been really trying to catch up on lost sleep. I think—I might only need to be in here a few more days max."

"Are you certain about that Rae? You're not just trying to brush off something that's more serious _just_ so you can help me find answers?" Robin asked her, suspicion lingering in his voice. She looked at him sternly.

"I wouldn't lie to you—and don't you think I'd know my own body?" Raven stated with the slightest hinting of an edge to her tone. "I appreciate the concern, but—I think you might be exaggerating it due to the fact of all that's happened since you returned. As severe as the beating I took was—it surprisingly didn't take as long to heal as you might've thought."

Robin couldn't help envisioning finding her that night near death's door, unconscious and badly battered. In his mind he couldn't seem to apply _exaggerated _to his level of concern for her after seeing her like _that_. He made no rebuttal, instead outwardly giving in to agreeing with her. Whether she was being genuine about her claim or not—he'd just have to take her word for it. He wasn't psychic; he gave her a fake smile to reassure her that he agreed with her. Unfortunately—the girl _was_ at least partially psychic, and it was very possible she would see through that façade. She showed no signs of it either way of whether she saw through the façade, just stifling a yawn as she continued to strive to become fully alert.

"If you need to get more rest—I can step out and make contact with Titans East and let you have some peace and quiet to catch some Zs," Robin told her.

"I could—probably use it," Raven unmistakably agreed. She struggled with another yawn, this time not able to fight it off quite as well. "You might as well search the tower while its light out—since the electricity's out and it'll be harder to find anything in the dark. Plus—I'm sure Bumblebee's waiting for you to call."

"You're probably right," Robin agreed. He was just about to get up, when she unexpectedly reached out for his hand with one of her own.

"Plus—it's safer during daylight because then you won't have to deal with those menacing shadows as you search." Raven looked directly at him, but oddly—her eyes seemed distant somehow. Like she wasn't the one completely responsible for that claim. "It's not safe to go looking for answers when the shadows are thick."

"What do you mean?" Robin looked at her questioningly. She seemed to escape her lapsing, here eyes returning to consciously looking directly at him without any distance contained within them.

"I—I'm not sure," Raven's tone was uncertain, and it was written clearly in her eyes. She pulled her hand away from his quickly. "You—should probably get to what you were planning to do. I think—I think I _really _need to get some sleep."

"Okay—if you say so." Robin got up, his expression clearly puzzled. He made his exit—finding himself questioning over and over in his mind the meaning of her unexpected warning about shadows.


	7. InStability

Chapter 7: (In)Stability

A few days would pass; Bumblebee's team and Robin would head up the search of the tower while Raven stayed behind to continue to recuperate—with Aqualad yet again keeping watch over her during their absence. They would come upon few clues in their search—and hardly anything to merit anything substantial.

Nobody had seen the three missing teammates; nobody amongst the honorary titans had anything to report—not even a shred of info. Robin was starting feel like he was hitting a dead end.

That was—until the day Raven checked herself out of the hospital. She showed up at the tower in the company of her guardian for the day, bag of her belongings slung over her shoulder. Robin had been shocked at her sudden appearance, even more so when he learned she'd checked herself out without informing him first.

"Rae—what are you doing here?" Robin had managed to exclaim at her arrival.

"Showing you that I've healed up enough to not need to be confined to a hospital bed," Raven informed him. "Also—so I can help aid you in the search. Is there…something wrong about me being here?"

"Rae, I—" Robin hesitated. Bumblebee entered the remnants of the common room from a side corridor, unaware at first of the two added presences until she got up close.

"Are you okay enough to be here and not still in the hospital girl?" Bumblebee questioned Raven upon acknowledging her, eying Aqualad a bit particularly. Raven nodded.

"I only feel a little pain—and it's easily manageable and not worth being confined to a hospital bed for," Raven stated. "So…has there been anything worthwhile found yet?"

"Besides an extensive amount of damage to the security systems and the tower's power grid, there hasn't really been all that much to discover here," Robin told her, on a regrettable note. "Nothing more to indicate Slade's involvement in what ever he's got himself caught up in—not one scrap to indicate the whereabouts of the other three, _nothing._ I think we've hit a dead end here at the tower—there's nothing left to uncover that we don't already know."

"Is it time we checked in with the Dark Knight—see what answers you and I could uncover over in Gotham?" Raven asked him. "It's the only clear avenue I know of right now. Unless…you know of something else." She was watching him, gazing directly towards him with all her attention focused on him.

"If you think you'll be able to handle being a passenger behind me on the R-Cycle—we might as well," Robin replied. "But—are you _sure_ you could handle making a trip that way with me? Are you strong enough—will you be able to hold on?"

"I'm sure, Robin," Raven stated firmly.

"If need be—we can keep up searching the tower for clues for a little while longer while you're gone," Bumblebee spoke up. "If we come across anything—we could keep in touch. I don't think there's much keeping you two bound to this place right now; you might as well take the girl and go searching for the answers that'll help you find the rest of your team."

"That would be helpful," Robin agreed.

"I can only keep it up for a little while though. We've got to get back to Steel City sometime soon," Bumblebee added. "Besides—there's not much more left here to search—so it's be kind of pointless hanging around here _too much longer_ anyways."

"You're probably right about that—and I'm sure you have other things you need to get to," Robin replied. "Thanks for all the help you've been able to offer."

"No sweat," Bumblebee said with a wave of one hand. "It's all good—I'm doing this for Cyborg. He'd have done the same if it were me that was in his position now instead."

"If you two plan to make a good dent on the miles you'll have to travel while it's still daylight—I'd suggest you head out now while traffic's still good," Aqualad advised them. "It's gonna get sketchy soon—with the noon lunch hour traffic approaching quickly and everything. Gotham's quite a distance from here—and it's gonna take you a good couple days just to make the trip."

"I'm going to grab a few things and then I'll be ready to head," Robin stated, turning his attention to Raven. "Do you need to grab anything before we head out?"

"A few things," Raven replied. "Just some necessities. It shouldn't take me long to retrieve them."

"When you've gathered what you need—meet me down in the parking bay downstairs by the R-Cycle and wait for me, okay?" Robin told her. She nodded.

"I'll be down there with you in a few." Raven left the almost unrecognizable common room, heading towards the still surprisingly operable elevator.

"Are you _sure _that girl's gonna be fit enough to travel that long of a distance safely?" Bumblebee questioned him, looking at him rather particularly.

"If she says she is—she probably is," Robin replied. "I've learned not to doubt her."

"Be careful with that girl, Robin," Aqualad advised him. "I'm not sure about it, but—I don't think it's just the physical problems you should be focusing on."

"Have you noticed something while watching over her that I should be aware of?" Robin asked, concern building up with each spoken syllable.

"On a few occasions I noticed a few things while she was sleeping. She would look troubled about something I couldn't even start guessing about, and at times—she'd be going on about something to do with shadows. Creepy, dark shadows that oddly have a consciousness," Aqualad stated. "I think she gets caught up in one of those weird dream vision things like that time with your teammate Starfire. I'm not sure what kind of effect that kind of thing can have on a person's mentality like hers—but I'd be watching her carefully if I were you."

"I'll keep an eye on her—thanks for giving me the heads up," Robin replied. "I should probably get moving. I don't want to have her end up waiting up on me."

"Be careful Robin," Bumblebee advised him. "And good luck."

Robin just nodded, leaving without saying another word.

XoXoXoXoX

It had been a long while since she had been inside her room. The usually already dark and—as Beast Boy had once referenced it as—creepy space had an extra, almost exaggerated, sense of the meaning of those very words. Even she was stirred a bit with a sense of uneasiness as she made her entrance and closed the door behind her.

Raven found the candles she'd abandoned in a small bag in the corner from the night Starfire and the other two had been taken and she'd been knocked unconscious. She picked one up and lit it for a little bit of illumination. The flames cast some eerie shadows as she moved about with the candle grasped in her fist; she fully understood the tension Starfire had felt in the presence of those shadows in her dream. Something about them—_the way they shifted—_

She hastily searched around for the necessities for their trip: a couple changes of clothes, something for warmth in case she'd need it, and a few other items she deemed important. She shoved them into a small shoulder bag.

When she finished getting what she needed packed up neatly, she set aside the candle in her hand and blew out the flame. The room fell back into an eerie shadow cover—especially eerie for that midmorning hour.

She left her room in a bit of a hurry, trying to escape the tension those shadows unexpectedly left her with. She never thought that her room would feel foreboding to her, but at that moment—it did, and she was thankful to be out of there and on her way.

She looked back at the placard on her door just before she reached the turn in the hall, wondering just _what _it was that was hidden in those shades that stirred up fear even in her.

XoXoXoXoX

Raven found Robin waiting for her when she reached the garage. He acknowledged her approaching, smiling slightly as he did.

"Do you have all you need for a few days hard driving?" Robin asked her. She nodded. "So—you think you'll be able to handle being a passenger on this for long periods of time?" He pointed towards his cycle distinctly, and again—she nodded. "Are you sure?"

"I should be able to," Raven confirmed. "Do you by chance have a spare helmet around that I could use?"

"I picked one up a few days ago, just for this," Robin stated. He gently handed her a helmet—which she took from him. "We should put as many miles down as we can during the daylight hours. I hope you're prepared for some hard motorcycle riding."

"I am," Raven stated. She watched him for a second, waiting. "Uh—you first."

Robin put his helmet on and got on the cycle, motioning for her to join him after he'd secured himself into position on it. She did the same with the helmet he'd handed her, fitting it snugly on before getting on behind him.

"Make sure you secure your arms around me, I don't need you losing your grip and falling off anytime during the trip," Robin advised her. Hesitantly she brought her arms to where he'd instructed, making sure her grip was firm. Just as she was certain her grip was firm enough, he revved the engine—almost shocking her enough to make her loosen her grip. He noticed.

"Keep your grip firm," Robin advised her again. He looked back at her. "Are you _sure_ you're up to this?"

"Yes, I am," Raven replied with an irritable note. "That was just a one time reaction. It _won't _happen again."

"I sure hope not," Robin murmured mostly to himself. She of course heard him, but didn't say anything in response. "Can you open the door to the garage with your powers? When the power went out—so did the door opener."

"Got it." Not more than an instant later, Raven did like he'd asked.

"Thanks." Robin revved the engine again. This time, Raven's grip remained firm.

This time—he set it into gear, and they were off.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The day was solemn and cold slate gray. The sky looked ready to burst with precipitation—just managing to suppress it with a maximal amount of effort. The air was as cold and nippy as the sky expressed; any skin they had exposed to the wind felt the biting of its cold scraping touch.

The day wasn't a pleasant one to be travelling by motorcycle. Raven just managed to keep from expressing her discomfort with the chill brushing harshly against her heavily exposed legs.

"How are you doing back there?" Robin called to her.

"Okay," Raven shouted her reply above the wind's loud gusts.

They had been on the road nonstop for hours. Robin had been pushing it as far as he could manage—as far as the fuel tank would allow.

"Soon I'm going to have to stop to refuel," Robin shouted to her. "If you've been getting a bit chilled while we've been on the road—that'll be your opportunity to get dressed in something more comfortable and warm for the road."

"How'd you come to the conclusion I am cold?" Raven asked him perplexingly.

"I can tell because I can feel you shivering," Robin replied. "There's a fueling station about a half hour up the road. We'll stop there for a bit and take a break."

"Okay." Raven remained silent from there on—and so did Robin. The rest of trip was made with the only voice being spoken was that of the very expressive wind itself.

XoXoXoXoXoX

They reached a point where they would stop for the evening—reaching an appropriately placed freeway exit at just the approaching hours of dusk. Robin pulled the cycle into the drive of a hotel, parking it carefully in a spacious parking spot off to the side of the lot.

The two-storey structure looked inviting enough; the front lobby was pretty ordinary—the attendant in charge a man in his mid thirties. Upon their entry, he greeted them and showed them to what there was to avail for that evening after issuing them their keycards for their room. He left the two of them alone as they headed inwards to take a moment to just relax.

Raven collapsed in exhaustion onto the nearest bed to her, lying still with her eyes closed for several long moments.

"If you need to use it—I'll let you use the bathroom first to get ready for bed," Robin took her out of her relaxed state. She opened her eyes.

"I'll get up in a moment," Raven replied. Her face still felt raw from the chilling bite of the draft during their travels. The skin felt ice cold as she ran her fingers over it as some form of confirmation. "Good thing they have two beds to each room." She noted. "It's convenient."

"Yeah," Robin replied. "So—you've got that one claimed then?"

"I might as well say yes," Raven replied. "Is…that a problem?"

"Nah," Robin stated, shrugging it off. He'd set aside his bag and was sitting on the bed next to the one she lay on.

"Hey—Robin?" Raven spoke up, reclining herself into a sitting position. He turned his attention towards her.

"What Rae?" Robin replied.

"Any time while you were searching through the tower…did you ever encounter any place in the shadows where you felt tension you couldn't quite explain to yourself? Did it ever seem to you that—the shadows might be more than just _shadows?" _Raven asked him. He gave her a momentary perplexed expression, which instantly reverted back to being nondescript.

"I _did _notice there was something different than the usual about the shadows," Robin noted. "In fact—I think at one point or another, we all did—Bumblebee and her team. Why? Do you know something about why that is?"

"No—but I wish I did," Raven stated. "I'm only going to admit this to you because I can trust that you won't make fun of me for it—I was actually _afraid _of my room when I went up there before we left. It had something to do with the shadows in there. Something about them stirred some tension in me while I was up there—and I don't _like _that I felt that way in my _own room._"

"There seems to be some kind of theme lately with this sense of ominous shadows," Robin noted. "Besides in the tower and in some of those dreams of yours—have you gotten that same kind of sense from shadows in other places you've been?"

"No—not yet, anyways," Raven replied. She got up off the bed and reached for her bag with her belongings. "I think I'm going to get ready for bed now. I think I want to call it a night early—I'm exhausted, and I still have some sleep I need to catch up on."

"That's a good idea I think I'll follow suit on," Robin said. "We need to be up and on the road early, so—it's probably the best option."

Raven just nodded, snatching up her bag and taking it with her to the bathroom, closing the door behind her with a click of the latch catching. Robin rested on the bed he'd taken to in the calming silence, waiting for when she'd be done so he could get ready for bed himself.

XoXoXoXoXoX

She had fallen into slumber easy; it was he who had to struggle some.

Robin eventually fell into a light sleep, which wasn't apparently meant to last the whole night through. The sound of somebody mumbling awoke him with a start.

He at first had assumed it had been the product of his own dreams that had resulted in him being awoken, but as he became more aware, he began to realize the mumbling was very real. He looked over to the girl occupying the bed beside him—realizing it was she who was the culprit of the muffled vocalizations.

At first she spoke in soft murmurs that were too hard to make out, but after a time she became louder—the words spilling out very clearly, at times almost in the form of shouting.

"I wish that I hadn't been so hard on her." Robin wasn't sure what Raven was channeling from her dreams into in regards to the words she spoke—a dream or something like that time she'd seen through Starfire's eyes. She was clearly asleep, and unaware that she was even talking in her sleep—"I really hope that's not how I leave it between the two of us."

Robin tried to comprehend what she was saying—drawing a complete blank as a conclusion. He continued to listen in, finding he couldn't return to sleep at the moment.

_Maybe she'll say something that'll give me a hint to what she's talking about—_

"I don't understand what you want with her," she suddenly spoke in a louder tone—more demanding, questioning. It caught Robin off guard, causing him to pay closer attention to every word she spoke. "What can you get out of holding us hostage in exchange for her? Why do they even need Raven anyways?"

"What—?" Robin exclaimed; Raven continued.

"You can't have her—they can't have her! I don't care how freaked out I am or what I might have to do to get in the way—I won't allow her to be taken away. I also know Robin wouldn't stand for it." Raven made a few muffled sounds and expressions of one that was caught in a struggle. Robin recognized that this wasn't a _dream apparently;_ the nature of it just fit with something else.

_Which of them is she channeling—_

"I'm not gonna let you get what you want, Slade," Raven spoke in a harsh snarl. "I won't give up a friend to the darkness—no matter what the cost is."

_Slade._ Robin felt livid hearing that name spoken.

"I'd rather resort to giving into my darkest morph than let you take her in exchange for us," Raven's voice declared. "Even if it destroys me in the process."

She held an expression on her face of twisted anger—which immediately was exchanged for one of pain.

_She's in pain—_

"Rae?" Robin exclaimed, concern carrying in his voice. He hurriedly went over to the side the bed she resided on, trying to arouse her from her _dream_ with a gentle shake. It took a harder nudge to finally render her awake. She shot up quickly in response, disoriented and unaware of her surroundings for several long moments.

"Where am I?" Raven finally managed to murmur. She looked towards Robin, her expression perplexed.

"In a hotel along the highway," Robin reminded her. "You were dreaming—and I awoke you abruptly from it."

"Why did you wake me up?" Raven asked him groggily.

"You were talking in your sleep," Robin told her. "And—you looked like you were in pain at the moment I decided to awake you."

"I slightly recall a dream I was having before I woke up—" Raven fell silent.

"What _were_ you dreaming about?" Robin questioned her. "From the sound of it—I think you were channeling one of our teammate's conversation with Slade."

"Yeah—it was Beast Boy." Raven frowned. "He felt regretful about how he bickered with me before they disappeared. I recall him struggling while his wrists were bound securely behind his back —confronting Slade on something on my behalf. I could sense he was afraid—kind of like Starfire, because of the same thing as Starfire—but he wasn't allowing it to paralyze him in fear in the same way as her. He kept saying he wouldn't allow them to take me. And then I felt the pain that followed—"

"Rae—did you see anything through his eyes, could you make sense of anything that was going on in the surroundings?" Robin asked her. She looked at him troubled.

"He was looking directly at Slade," Raven replied. "I could see something in the shadows when he glanced quickly at them from time to time. They seemed…almost—alive. At times…in a way—it seemed almost like he was also addressing those shadows as he spoke with Slade." She frowned, looking at him directly. "Is it even possible—were the shadows…alive?"

"Are you suggesting it's the shadows that want you—that it's the shadows Slade's working with?" Robin asked her questioningly.

"I'm not sure exactly," Raven replied perplexingly.

"This is making absolutely no sense," Robin shook his head. "Maybe I just need a good night's sleep and a clear head to grasp this."

Raven didn't reply; she just looked troubled.

"Is something about it troubling you in particular?" Robin asked her.

"There's something about those _shadows _that bothers me for some reason," Raven told him. "It's bothering me that I have no explanation for why I'm bothered by them—or what they actually _are_ for that matter. I only get the feeling those shadows aren't ordinary shadows."

"Let's just sleep on it and think about on the trip tomorrow," Robin suggested. "Maybe—we can get some answers about that when we get to Gotham."

Raven looked like she still had a lingering thought, but she shrugged it off and lay back down with her head against the pillows. Robin returned to his own bed, pulling the sheets up around him as he tried to get back to sleep. He eventually drifted off; Raven meanwhile remained awake a little while longer—thoughts of her teammate from her _dream_ lingering on her mind.


	8. Dark Night in Gotham

Chapter 8: Dark Night in Gotham

The city was crowded—cursing mingling in with the sounds of overheating engines coating the air with a decent layer of exhaust. Traffic was backed up in more of a fashion than the usually expected congestion; sirens hinting in the air indicated a possible instigator to it—

"You doing okay back there?" Robin shouted back to Raven, who was clinging on to him tightly.

"Besides the shouting and the exhaust filled air that's making it hard to breathe—I'm doing fine back here," Raven shouted back. "How far from here do we have to go to get where we're headed?"

"Not far—a few miles of city traffic," Robin replied. "Once things start moving a bit, I'll take a detour down the closest street we come to that I can turn on."

"Okay," Raven replied. She listened to the shouting of irritable drivers cursing at one another, rolling her eyes at their impatience. A few moments passed with them at a standstill, and then—it really started moving forward.

"Looks like things are finally starting to move again," Robin made a note of it. "Whatever's been holding up traffic must've been dealt with."

Raven didn't answer; she just played silent observer as he changed lanes and turned the corner towards a less congested avenue.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The entrance was out of view, Raven noticed. Robin was particularly careful about how to make his entry—avoiding the public eye as he waited for the right opportune moment to take them in. She had almost forgotten that his mentor existed in an air of mystery—hidden behind an identity nobody was supposed to have access to the knowledge of. Robin was one of the few privileged with that knowledge; she knew that well—

When he finally managed to wheel his cycle into the hidden enclosure, he slowed it to a crawl, coming to a halt and motioning for her to get off. She slipped off silently from behind, keeping her grip on him the whole time until she had her feet firmly enough planted on the asphalt.

"We'll just leave this here and head on in," Robin told her, removing the helmet as he spoke. "Just leave yours on the R-Cycle right next to mine." He indicated that he meant the helmet she'd worn when he specifically set his on the cycle's seat. She nodded, doing as he suggested. He then led the way from that point on, seeing as he was the one familiar with the grounds and she wasn't.

The dark complex was silent, with only the minimal sounds of technology in operation being audible as they made their way.

Robin led her to the display he'd stood at when he'd arrived there before. Eerily, the display was the same as it was previously, something he found awfully suspicious—

"It's the same as when I left," Robin made the observation aloud. "It's almost as if this place has been untouched since the time I was here previously." He looked at the display with suspicion, Raven watching him with concern and question. He slammed his fists down on the control panel, catching her off guard. "_Where is he?_"

"Robin—is something wrong?" Raven asked her voice concern tinged. His fists were balled, the tension he exerted causing him to tremble. He turned to her quickly, an expression of confused aggravation vividly splayed across his face.

"Why didn't I see it before?" Robin exclaimed, making her raise an eyebrow in response. "How could I not have noticed the signs when I first arrived?"

"Robin, what's going on?" Raven asked him. He turned his focus to her, his expression softening as he noticed her concern. "What's wrong?"

"This place has been vacant since before I got here the first time," Robin explained, his voice cracking. "I get the feeling he was never here waiting for me at all—that someone got to him before I even arrived. That this whole thing might have been a _setup_."

"What do you think happened here?" Raven asked him.

"He probably went to investigate a routine disturbance in the city—and never made it back for some reason or another," Robin replied irritably. "According to this display, he was investigating one spot in particular for peculiar activity. I know this location—it wasn't far from where we were passing through, where traffic was backed up earlier."

"Is there anything we can gain from anything here?" Raven asked him. "Anything that might hint at whatever happened to your mentor, or give us clues to what happened to our teammates at all?"

"I can ask his butler when it was the last time he saw him—see if he has any answers to his whereabouts…"Robin trailed, looking over at the display closely, the ever steady blinking red beacon beckoning for his attention. "We could also investigate this location—see what could turn up there. Other then that Rae—I can't think of much else we can get from here in regards to actual clues."

"Do you happen to know where to locate this butler for clues?" Raven asked him. "This is your past—not mine. You know this establishment much better than I do. I'm just a stranger here."

Robin's expression was undeterminably dismal; Raven understood exactly why. He turned his focus to her—noticing she was fully focused on him. His expression lightened as his gaze met up with hers.

"Robin—" the words hung on Raven's tongue for a moment. "Just remember—I'm still here for you, we've got each other."

"Thanks Rae," Robin actually smiled. "Let's get going, I'll lead the way." She nodded. Without another word between the two, he led the way with her following him—right by his side.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The answers they got out of the butler were almost hardly of any use—only a few things gave them some leads to go on. The only really valid piece of evidence they got from him was that he didn't know the whereabouts of the Dark Knight himself; it appeared he'd just _vanished_ without really giving an explanation as to why.

They left the complex in disappointment, somberly making their way to one of the few places they knew they could gather some clues—that intersection that had been marked on the display.

As they made their way in the hour of twilight, Raven couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. It wasn't drivers in other vehicles on the road, pedestrians they passed along the way—even if any of them were watching them by chance, it wasn't any of them that sent up those red flags. She couldn't explain where that dreaded sense was coming from, but she knew it had to be coming from somewhere.

_It couldn't just be paranoia—_

"It looks like something went down where they've got it all taped off," Robin made the observation aloud. "It also looks like they've been working nonstop to fix it."

Raven looked to where he was indicating; he'd come to a halt in a parking space off to the side of the busy street. There were remnants of what looked to be a much bigger catastrophe than what existed currently. The new pavement marked a stretch of what had probably been damaged—even possibly uprooted—roadway that almost stretched from one side to the other. The untouched pavement just beyond the boundaries of the newly laid paving showed signs of scorching—indications that an explosion of some form had occurred on those grounds. A building located just off the nearest corner closest to the new laid paving was bashed inwards—construction tape marking it off as off-limits to passersby and unauthorized individuals. Portions of the roof from the floor above had caved in—its foundations proving feeble from whatever impact that building had sustained.

"It almost looks like a car—or some kind of vehicle—collided with the storefront that's been taped off," Raven noted.

"I think it goes further than being just a collision," Robin stated. "It looks like what ever crashed into the side of that building also caused a large explosion and took up some of the pavement along with it."

Within the taped off zones, several individuals from the cleanup crew were hard at work, trying to put in as much work as they could so that they could open up that segment of the roadway to traffic yet again.

"I wonder if any of them might know what caused this," Robin noted as he got off the cycle. Raven followed, with help from him. He approached the closest member of the clean up crew. "Hey," he tried getting that person's attention. The guy halted what he was doing and looked up. "Is it okay if I ask a few questions about what happened here?"

"Not if you make it short and sweet," the guy replied. "What'd you need to know?"

"First off—what created this mess in the first place?" Robin asked.

"A bad wreck—that's what," the worker stated. "Vehicle just came along and struck the side of this here building without any signs of trying to stop himself. A few veered outta his way only to get themselves caught up in it with each other. The vehicle that instigated the whole thing went up in flames. When they were done putting out the flames—all they managed to uncover in the wreckage was a shell of a vehicle. The frame was so charred up it was beyond recognition. Nobody's even sure if the thing was manned or not; the remnants of it were so charred up it was hard to tell if there'd ever been a driver in it or not. All I can say is that you could've seen the resulting fireball from it from a few miles away if it weren't for all the skyscrapers blocking the view."

"Is there any explanation for what might've caused this to happen in the first place?" Robin asked.

"From most viewpoints I've heard from—it was so sudden and caught so many of them off guard that they didn't see much of anything until after the fact," the worker replied with a shrug. "I heard from one that it looked like the vehicle that I've heard the caped crusader himself gets around in—but I couldn't say for certain how valid that claim is or not."

"Speaking of Batman—has there been any sightings or anything on him since before this wreck occurred?" Robin asked. The worker shrugged.

"To be honest—I don't keep up with that kinda thing," he replied. "But from what I've been hearing from coworkers that do—nobody's seen him out and about for a while. There's been the usual rash of bad guys tearing the city apart—but nobody out there really putting up the effort to stop them beside the usual law enforcement officers."

"That doesn't sound right," Robin muttered to himself.

"Hey—you associated with him or something—looking for him in particular?" the guy questioned. He set his tools aside and looked at the two of them squarely.

"That's actually why I'm here," Robin told him admittedly. "I've heard reports he was heading this way before he disappeared."

"Well—if that's what you're here for, I'm not gonna be much help beyond what I've already told you," The guy admitted. "You can ask around with the other guys, one of 'em might have some knowledge of what went down—if it was him that possibly went down here or not."

"Thanks—I think I'll do just that," Robin told him. "Thanks for the info you were able to give me."

"No prob." The guy picked up his tools and resumed where he'd left off. Robin moved away from him, looking for another worker who might be helpful.

Raven followed without saying a word. While he was busy asking various workers questions, she looked around at the scene, examining any peculiarity her eyes came across for details that might hold clues in them. While he was caught up in a conversation with one worker, she wandered off from his side towards something that caught her eye.

Nobody seemed to notice her as she walked past the taped off _off-limits_ zone, into the shell of a first story that was once a business. Her eyes wandered towards a particular spot in the rubble and debris. Something metallic caught a glint of reflected streetlight as she approached it. Curiously, she bent to examine it more closely. From a general point of view she could tell it wasn't a scrap from a crushed vehicle or any remnant from the building itself; the piece in itself was too complete—

She gasped when she realized what the _shard of metal_ really was. She realized it wasn't a just shard of metal at all—

"Robin—you should come over here," Raven spoke in a tone that was troubled. Hearing her speak from a bit of a distance away, Robin ceased his conversation with the worker he was currently speaking with, turning quickly to gaze her way with a startled expression.

"What are you doing over there?" Robin exclaimed, at first startled by the fact that she wasn't still right by his side. His startled expression was replaced with a questioning one when her request fully registered. "Did you find something?"

"A metal piece that is too untarnished to be here from the accident—the vehicle itself or anything from the building," Raven stated. "A piece I'm sure you're going to recognize all _too well_ when you see it in person."

Robin walked away from the current worker he'd been questioning and cautiously made his way over towards where she stood.

"It almost looks like it was planted here _after the fact_," Raven told him as he stood beside her. She pointed downward; he bent down to examine what she was pointing at, recognizing it immediately without question.

"_Slade's_ been here," Robin said angrily. He looked more closely at the remnants of ash beneath the metal emblem of his archenemy. He picked the emblem up in one fist, running his fingers through the debris below it. Raven watched him closely, questioningly.

"Is there something else there?" Raven asked him. He continued to sift through the ash layer with his fingers, hesitating on giving her a reply for a few moments.

"Here," Robin lifted something from the ash layer, something solid—and metallic. "This confirms what the reports stated—he _was _involved in the crash." He closed his fist around the metallic piece he'd just sifted from the ash, clenching it tightly. He began to tremble visibly, all the while he was clenching both his fist and his jaw tightly; she recognized these as signs of him being extremely angered and distraught—

"Maybe—he wasn't even in the vehicle when it collided with the side of this building and blew up," Raven tried to be reassuring, her hands resting on his trembling shoulders to further that attempt. "Some witnesses stated that they were unsure whether it was being driven or if it was possibly unmanned. It's possible that Slade planned this out to throw off suspicion of what really happened here—to your mentor, his involvement in this accident in the first place. There could be a chance he was taken—like our friends. There's a good chance Robin—that he's not dead."

"Raven—for all that it's worth…I hope you're right." Robin looked like he was at his breaking point. Apparently—he had just surpassed it. She witnessed something that was for him a rare event—he collapsed down onto his knees with her following on cue, and began to cry.

In the displaced ash, soot and debris—she sheltered him from view of anyone who could possibly bear witness with a dark projected shield of her own creation and embraced him—trying her hardest to bring him comfort during that moment where he was just too overwhelmed with all that was going on.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Darkness veiled in shades, in a realm devoid of anything remotely resembling something pleasant and bright—

Cyborg was _just_ becoming conscious of the fact that he was being confined in a realm veiled heavily in shadows. What wasn't completely darkened in the depths of shadows was drably hued—a palette consisting heavily of several monochromatic gray tones.

He wasn't sure if he was awaking to find himself in an alternate dimension, a bare-bones storage unit—or a bad old horror movie. He just knew the depth of silence he was witnessing was getting to him.

_It's just too unnatural—_

He had free range of movement, much to his relief. He accessed his built in flashlight to provide some illumination—shift some of those eerie shadows just a bit—

"Where am I?" he questioned when the flashlight's illumination was only cast upon another form of emptiness. "Am I in some kind of void or something?"

"You're the last to come to." In the drab and dreary atmosphere—Cyborg wasn't expecting there to be anyone to reply to his vocalized inquiries. In surprise, he jerked his head to and fro to spy out this _company_ he had. He swore he _knew _that voice from somewhere; why couldn't he seem to _place it—_

The light of his built in flashlight finally hit on target the source of that reply—his eyes going very wide in shock in what he just _happened _to see before him.

"_Slade."_ Cyborg armed himself as an instinctive response, as one could never be too prepared for this villain in particular—"Were you the one that brought me to this—wherever this just happens to be?"

"I can only take part of the credit." Slade kept himself half cast in shadows; Cyborg didn't grasp just why. "Do you recall how you wound up here—or even recall being displaced at all?"

"I recall arming myself so that I could strike at some foe if I had to—but I don't at all recall anything about a place like this," Cyborg commented. "Can you give me any hints to what my purpose in this place is—why ya brought me here to begin with?"

"It's not a characteristic of mine to just _give away_ information so freely," Slade noted, to which Cyborg snarled in response. "I can give you hints—but you'll have to come to the answer to that on your own."

In aggravation, Cyborg brought up his sonic cannon to put it to good use against the enemy, but before he could activate it and put it to good use, something restrained him—something he wasn't expecting. In shock—when he turned his head to see just _who _it was that had restrained him—he saw nothing. Just a blanket of darkness—

"What the hell is going on here?" Cyborg exclaimed in shock. He struggled to release his arm—but whatever had restrained him before, still held a firm grip on him. He turned his attention quickly to Slade furiously. "Are you practicing_ black magic_ on me? Is that what's holding me back from striking ya down, something mystical that you've got control of?"

"That is not of my doing whatsoever," Slade spoke coolly. "_I'm_ not holding you back by any means of my own."

"Then—what in hell is holding me back then?" Cyborg remarked, trying to struggle against a foe he couldn't seem to get an identity to. He had no luck freeing himself; whatever was holding him back—it had a very firm grip on him.

"As I said—you'll have to get the answers yourself," Slade replied rather smugly.

Cyborg turned his attention away from his nemesis, trying to face whatever was holding him back. He had to struggle to achieve that said goal. When he finally managed to accomplish his goal—he would come to a realization that would leave him with his eyes open very wide.

—_Darkness set in yet again—_

_XoXoXoXoXoXXoXoXoXoXoX_

_The plot thickness as the darkness does. I'm hoping this was a good read-with a bit if a cliff hanger. :P_

_~Mara (jadeflower82)_


	9. Shades in the City

(New Chapter up, Enjoy!)

* * *

Chapter 9: Shades in the City

The two found themselves wandering aimlessly for a time. Raven wasn't sure where they were headed; she was just allowing Robin the opportunity to clear his mind of his trouble—to which she felt she didn't have the right to interrupt.

"Maybe we should go to the authorities—check in to see what was uncovered in the wreckage after the fact," Robin spoke up, stopping in one spot on the pedestrian walkway. Raven stopped along with him, expressed worry on her face. "Maybe they can clear up whether he was inside the vehicle when it went up in flames or not."

"That would be a good place to start," Raven agreed. "Robin—I'm pretty sure he's okay somewhere. I'm not sure where, but—I'm sure he wasn't in that vehicle when it crashed."

"Rae, I appreciate the fact that you're trying to lift my spirits, but—until I have some form of confirmation of it—I can't just go on believing he's really okay when he might not be," Robin told her. His expression was somber, which bothered Raven for some reason—

"He must really mean something to you—if you're reacting this seriously to it," Raven murmured. She looked back at him with a solemn gaze.

"He's like a father to me when I lost my own," Robin replied. "He's very important to me because of that. Most of what I know—he taught me."

"I understand," Raven said. She forced herself to smile ever so slightly at him. "Let go to the police department—get the answers you need for this." He nodded silently, and then the two made their way back towards his cycle.

XoXoXoXoXoX

It was midday— the weather in the city proving to be temperamental. Just as Bumblebee had promised—she had her team head over to the tower as soon as it was daybreak. Jinx and Kid Flash had stayed in the vicinity, joining them on that slate gray overcast day.

While the rest of the group had fanned out to other sections of the tower, Jinx had found herself drawn to Raven's room, without any real explanation as to why for her. At first she figured it was just curiosity from being in there that time before.

_There was still so much yet to see, and not enough to do it the first time round—_

"Her room's not that creepy," Jinx noted to herself. "Some pieces aren't to my taste, but some of these books are actually interesting looking." She heard a thud—like something had fallen to the floor—

She turned on her heel to glance around for the culprit to the _thud._ She found nothing.

"Must've been sound carrying through the vents from somewhere else," Jinx summed it up as being. "Probably one of the others being a little clumsy." She turned her attention back towards the mini library wall, checking out the titles book by book. She was just about to reach for one title in particular when she heard yet another distinctive _thud_. The intensity of it's echoing off the walls startled her some.

"Where'd that thudding sound come from?" She began investigating every corner of the room looking for clues. A book from a shelf across the room lay open on its spine. "I don't recall seeing this lying here before—"

She bent down to pick up the book. She narrowed her rose hued cat-like eyes as she brought it up closer to her face to read it. The way the book had landed—it had been opened to a specific page. She had to wonder why that was—

"It's some kind of reference book," Jinx surmised as she read it over. "Apparently—a fairly ancient one." The pages were yellowed, the writing handwritten. "I wonder where this girl gets her literature—" She had a hard time reading the text in the poor lighting, and the fact that the ledger who had written it in the first place was also hard to read in itself.

She finally managed to decipher some of the text. "This book's about something called the shadow realm," Jinx observed aloud. "I wonder why this thing fell on the floor to begin with?" She eyed the book suspiciously. "_How did this thing fall on the floor in the first place?_" _It's not like anyone's up here to send the thing flying, and I sure as hell know I didn't do it myself. That'd be a stupid thing to jinx up—_

"Hey—is there somebody up here knocking books off the shelves, trying to freak me out or something?" Jinx asked nobody in particular. "Well—whoever's responsible—you're not frightening me. I don't frighten easily." What followed was heavy silence. She looked at that book again. "Well—maybe if I can find a good place with decent lighting in this dump to do so—I'll try diving into this piece of literature in particular. See if I can polish it off before Raven can even notice it's missing—or before they even get back here to notice."

Her curiosity at that moment spent, Jinx exited Raven's room—that old yellowing piece of literature stashed under one arm as she made her departure.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The police station was busy when the two of them arrived—cops were bringing in cuffed criminals and booking them while other officers were filing paper work and dealing with the several detectives and other personnel that shuffled in and out of the premises.

Raven and Robin waited in a side lobby out of the way, waiting for when one of the officers would be freed up so that they could ask them what they needed to. After what felt like forever an officer approached them, apparently there just for them.

"You had some questions about that explosion from the other day?" the female officer asked the two of them.

"Yes, I do," Robin spoke up.

"What kind of questions do you have about it?" the officer asked him, her expression authoritative.

"I need to know if they ever uncovered any remains in the ashes—any signs that there might've been somebody in that vehicle when it crashed," Robin told her. "Does anyone have any evidence or knowledge of whether there was any or not?"

"It was hard to tell at first whether there was a driver involved or not—considering the vehicle was all but completely incinerated by the time there were any squad cars on the scene there to investigate," The officer began to explain. "They took any remnants they could down to the lab for an analysis just to be sure with some further testing. When the results were released just earlier this afternoon, they came back negative for human remains. Most of what they examined turned out to be just the usual ash and remains of a metal structure to a vehicle. Apparently—whatever that vehicle _was_ that caused that explosion—it didn't have a driver in it when it crashed."

Robin let out a breath of relief; Raven noted that he also looked like he'd had some heavy weight lifted off him as well.

"Do you have any other questions?" The officer asked them.

"No—that was the only thing we needed an answer for," Robin replied. "Thank you for giving us some of your time to answer that for us."

"You're welcome." The officer nodded her head slightly, and then was on her way with the other tasks she had to get to that day.

"I told you that he probably wasn't involved in that crash," Raven told him softly once the officer was out of range. "Now you've gotten the proof. Do you feel better about things now?"

"Yeah, Rae—it does," Robin replied. "Now the only problem is—what _really_ happened to him? Where did he go—where did our friends go? Are the two somehow connected—are they all being kept hostage in the same place, with Slade? Or is he somewhere else entirely from them?"

"We're just going to have to find that out," Raven told him.

"It's getting late," Robin said to her as they made their way out of the lobby towards the main entrance. "We should probably find a place to stay in for the night, and pick up with things again in the morning."

"Do you know of anything nearby that would be worth staying in?" Raven asked him. To that he smiled.

"Of course I do," Robin told her, reminding her, "I spent most of my time here before I left to do things on my own. There's something only two blocks from here that should suffice for the evening."

"Well then—take me to it then," Raven replied. Robin nodded in reply and led her out of the lobby.

Meanwhile—out of the corner of her eye as they were exiting—Raven caught sight of some unusual shifting in the shadows. She quickly glanced back to see what it was exactly that she saw, catching for just one moment a flicker of abnormal substance to the shadows in the one corner she'd spied something in. To her it had almost looked like a figure—not much different from a human's—cloaked completely in darkness. It had no distinguishable features outside the fact that it had a distinctive form.

As quickly as she had caught sight of it—it disappeared from her view. For a moment she wondered if she had been seeing things. She had stopped in place when she had seen that _thing_ in the shadows. Robin was looking at her questioningly when she acknowledged he had stopped walking as well and stood beside her.

"What made you come to a halt?" Robin asked her. She glanced over towards where that _shadow thing_ had been and then back towards him.

"I—thought I saw something," Raven told him.

"Like what?" Robin asked. She looked at him dubiously.

"I—saw something that looked like a figure made completely out of shadows," Raven replied. "At least—I think I saw it. I only caught a quick glimpse of it. It—from what I could tell—had a distinctly human form, but beyond that, it had no other distinguishing features or form."

"Are you pretty certain you saw what you _think _you saw?" Robin asked her. She shrugged, uncertain for a time.

_Did I really see that thing—?_

"I think—I'm pretty sure that's what I saw—that it wasn't just a trick on the mind," Raven said. She noticed he was caught in thought, to which she raised an eyebrow.

"It seems like—the more we get into this—the more we have experiences with oddities involving shadows," Robin observed aloud. "First we get creepy vibes from them back at the tower and in those _dreams _you've had involving our friends, and then you gave me some random warning the other day at the hospital about avoiding the shadows when they're thick, and now you're seeing shadows with actual physical substance to them. Is it even possible that these things are real—_alive?"_ He couldn't help but feel baffled by the thought.

"You know there's many things that are possible in this world that I'm sure we all at one time thought wasn't possible," Raven noted, looking at him seriously. "They could very well be alive, but—to what extent? What is it they can possibly do?" She wasn't expecting him to give her a serious reply—or possibly a plausible one.

"Possibly more than we could've even expected," Robin replied. "Like having some involvement in whatever happened to our friends to some extent." She gave him a peculiar look.

"You think it's possible—that shadows took our friends…or helped Slade to accomplish it?" Raven exclaimed incredulously.

"Like you said Rae—there are things that are possible that we didn't want to believe was," Robin reminded her. She continued to look at him questioningly. "We could at the very least research the possibility, and head back to my mentor's lair to see if there are any clues to his whereabouts—possibly the team's as well. We don't have many leads to go on—clues to work with; we could at least check this out and see where it leads us."

Raven expressed some resignation as she gazed back at him, looking like she didn't want to pursue an argument on it.

"I guess you have a point." Raven turned her attention towards the busy evening traffic. "We should probably get to that hotel before they end up being all booked up." She looked at him again. "We can do any research we need to on this _shadow conspiracy_ in the morning."

Robin nodded. He'd spied a timepiece in the entryway of the police station that had read a quarter to ten in the evening. He knew that in Gotham, decent places booked not long after the timeframe they were looking at—so they didn't have much time to linger around.

"Let's go then." Robin started walking in the direction of his cycle. She followed closely, without saying a word.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Jinx entered the common room, half occupied with that book she'd snatched from Raven's bedroom library. She heard the sounds of work in progress, causing her to look up from her ancient yellowed literature towards the activity that was happening around her that she previously wasn't aware of.

"Wow—you guys got this place looking halfway decent," Jinx commented as she looked around; Bumblebee was reconstructing the power grid for the tower, Speedy and Aqualad were both working together to tidy up and reassemble the layout of the room itself, Mas Y Menos were ransacking and rearranging things in the kitchen, and Kid Flash was apparently speedily going out and retrieving whatever items Bumblebee or her team needed that wasn't in the tower. Jinx looked up in time to notice the overhead lighting flicker a few times, and then stay consistently on.

"Fixed," Bumblebee said with some satisfaction. "I knew I could figure out how to fix things up." She grabbed for the nearby remote for the TV, which Jinx was surprised to find was in one piece—considering she didn't recall it being so before. Bumblebee pressed a button on it—automatically turning the big screen on.

"I thought that thing was trashed," Jinx pointed out. Bumblebee looked at her, seeming to acknowledge her being there for the first time.

"Your speedy guy pal just went out and got us a new one to replace the old one with," Bumblebee told her. "That thing was beyond repair—and they _do_ need a replacement. I can't imagine them existing _without _one."

"How far have you guys managed to get with repairing this place anyways?" Jinx asked as Bumblebee tested out the channels by flipping through them one by one.

"Mostly just the common room and the kitchen," Speedy replied. "I figure tomorrow we can start reconstructing whatever's shot on the next floor up—repair the shorting or missing wires and put in new windows where they've been shattered to pieces."

"How've you guys been able to get all this done?" Jinx exclaimed, eyes looking around at them all particularly. "It's not like any of you have super strength on your list of superpowers or anything."

"We had a few visitors stop in and help while you were conveniently absent," Aqualad told her. He and Speedy finalized the placement of the black sectional. "One of them did have super strength."

"We'll probably be calling it a night soon, since it's getting close to sundown—so finish up whatever you're doing," Bumblebee advised her team.

"So—where've you been this whole time while you were not down here helping us?" Speedy asked Jinx questioningly. He had finished with helping Aqualad place the sectional and was approaching her. "We could've gotten a lot more done if you'd been here to help out, you know."

"I was up checking out Raven's spooky yet fascinating room," Jinx replied. "Thought it'd be more interesting than going over this dump time and time again with a fine tooth comb looking for clues. The girl's got some reading material that's more interesting to waste my time on then clean up duty. I was just coming down to find a decent place to finish reading this thing, since that girl's room is too dark."

"What kind of book did you pick up?" Speedy inquired, his facial expression changing from curiosity to regret at asking that like a flip of a switch. "Actually, now that I think about—I don't think I want to know."

"What—you afraid of one little old book?" Jinx teased him. He of course shook his head in disagreement.

"Nah—I'm just not interested in whatever that girl happens to be interested in," Speedy replied. Jinx smirked.

"I'm taking this elsewhere—where the noise level is tolerable," Jinx said. She headed towards the elevator—destination outdoors. It was a location she knew would have a more tolerable noise level, and better lighting by which to read. The last they saw of her for the rest of the afternoon was her standing impatiently by the elevator—and her standing in it as the doors slid shut.


	10. All In The Dark

[Next Chapter is up. Enjoy!. ~Mara]

* * *

Chapter 10: All In The Dark

Jinx found a good location in partial shade to the side of the tower—a perfect place for her to sit and read. The city in the distance was somewhat noisy, but nothing she couldn't easily adjust to.

Surprisingly the late afternoon was bright and even a bit cheerful—unlike most, if not all, of the past several days. The sun—although in an advanced stage in its cycle—was bright and cheery. Jinx wasn't interested in little effects like that; she was more interested in just getting into that novel and poring over it before it got too dark.

She took a seat amongst some gangly grass blades, cross-legged, situating herself just before she cracked open that novel and began to read.

_In a world very few realize exists, shadows have a life of their own—_

XoXoXoXoXoX

Gotham was looking to be slightly depressing come morning; the sun hid itself yet again behind tired looking clouds, and periodical showers washed the city with their water drops from the heavens above.

Robin and Raven checked out of their lodging early in the morning, hoping to start their search for answers early.

That eve Raven had an uneventful slumber, not bothered with troubling dreams or _visions_ of things happening with their friends. Even though they both were relieved by that fact, Raven was a little disappointed by it because of the fact that left them with out any further clues—or answers about how their friends were still keeping up. She hadn't had any _connection _whatsoever with Cyborg, and that had her a little concerned.

_Did something happen to him where he can't be reached, or is it even possible he is—_

"Raven—how you doing back there? Holding up?" Robin called back to her as he steered his motorcycle through busy midday traffic. It took her a moment to respond, something he noticed. "Rae—you okay back there?"

"Uh—yeah, I'm fine," Raven responded. "I was just—caught up in thought just a second ago and didn't hear you the first time."

"Oh? What about?" Robin asked her. "Is it okay for me to pry like this?"

"Yeah—it's fine," Raven replied. "I was just—thinking about the others…the lack of a _visual connection_ of any form with Cyborg. I guess—I'm getting a little concerned with that…it's taking most of my concentration."

"I'm sure—if the other two are still for the most part okay—he would be too," Robin said, trying to be reassuring. "A possible reason could be because half of his mind is mechanical—which you might not be able to make a connection with using your method so easily as the other two."

"That could be." Raven looked upwards at the sky—the grey abysmal sky. "Are we getting close to our first stop?"

"The city's largest library branch is just a few blocks from here," Robin told her. "I've been mostly looking for a good—safe place—to park."

The trip until he found the right parking spot they were silent. She watched what was going on around them, while he watched the road and the flow of traffic.

He found a parking garage a block down from their destination. He parked them in a spot three floors up.

They exited at street level, the exit meeting up conveniently with the sidewalk.

"Which way?" Raven asked.

"This way," Robin replied. "Just follow my lead."

The library—Raven got the idea that the interior covered a great deal of square footage just from the fact that the entryway itself was largely proportioned for its own needs.

They headed up the cold stone stairway towards that entryway, with Robin reaching for the door handle when they'd climbed the flight of stairs. He opened it for her, motioning for her to enter. He followed after she'd stepped in. He noticed a look of awe in her eyes at the sight of what was inside, knowing well just why that was.

"I wish I could allow you to just roam this place all day looking over what this place has to offer, Rae, but—right now we just don't have the time," Robin told her. She looked at him, showing that she understood completely.

"Maybe—next time we come in to Gotham," Raven said. Robin smiled, nodding slightly.

"Yeah," Robin replied. "Maybe next time."

"Where should we get started?" Raven looked around, overwhelmed. "I don't even know where to begin."

"Check the computer database to do a subject search, and then move on from there," Robin replied. "Come—I think it's over there."

XoXoXoXoXoX

Mas Y Menos had wandered from the rest of their team without purpose. A few things had gotten them curious about the lives of the team from the tower they just happened to be wandering around just then.

Curiosity had brought them towards Beast Boy messy abode. To the two speedy twins, it was none too spectacular. The sheets on the bed were disheveled on both levels of the bunk. The floor was sparsely littered with everyday items here and there—nothing one couldn't expect from a typical teenage boy. If it weren't for one thing in particular, they wouldn't even have anything they saw end up imprinted on their memories.

One brother was startled by something. Menos spoke to his brother in Spanish—in a nerve-tensed voice—asking if he'd noticed the shadows moving oddly. To which, Mas responded: _yes._ Both brothers looked at each other with tension written all over their expressions, fright caught in their eyes. They nervously began to look around.

Another one moved, Mas noted.

That one looks like it—it's human, Menos spoke in fright-intensified Spanish words.

The two knew why they'd avoided coming up to that level before—they'd almost forgotten. How could they have forgotten?

Now they remembered with a great sense of apprehension—that floor was haunted.

The speedy twins were out of there in a blink of an eye.

XoXoXoXoXoX

Raven carried with her a stack of literature under one arm, heading towards one table she and Robin had set up as a meeting point. He was waiting there for her, with his own set of material resting upon the tabletop.

"Find anything useful?" Robin asked her as she took a seat across from him. She held up her load as an indication, three hardbound—and relatively thick—novels.

"These _might _be promising," Raven told him. "From the descriptions they had for them in the database, they might cover some of the things were searching for answers for. You?"

"Same as you," Robin replied, indicating the thickly bound books he'd discovered. "The material's description contained some of the info we're researching."

"Where to start?" Raven grabbed one random novel from the stack she'd brought over, opening it and searching over the table of contents in the front. "Let's see—" she ran her finger from one of the words that fit her criteria over to the page number, and then began searching for that particular page. "Damn."

"What?" Robin said.

"Looks like this one's not going to be helpful at all," Raven replied. "In this—it only gives a general description on shadows—what angles cause what size, etc—nothing we're looking for."

"Then—on to the next book," Robin suggested.

Raven set aside the useless literature for one that could possibly be more useful. She did much the same with this one as the last—with the same results.

"Two down," Raven remarked.

"Hm, let me take a crack at this," Robin said, taking on he'd brought to the table and mimicked what she'd done with the first two she'd gone through. "Unlike the one you found about more logical aspects on shadows—this one seems to cover the more mystical aspect on them."

"What does it say exactly?" Raven asked, coming over to his side of the table to get a better look for herself.

"Seems to be the telling of Darkness versus the Light—your usual good versus evil kind of thing." Robin stated. "Shadows are dark energy—somewhat evil in nature. Kind of the whole underworld, demonic sort of thing."

"Can you read me a passage?" Raven asked him. He nodded.

"I'll read what it defines shadows as," Robin told her. "It states that _there's the natural phenomena of ordinary everyday shadows, but on less common occasions these shadows appear to be more then just merely that. There has been some speculation of these shades being actually supernatural—dark and possibly demonic entities._ There's also something about shadows being—possible dark spirits?"

"We could possibly be chasing after ghosts here?" Raven said. Robin shrugged.

"This looks like something based on speculations, and not really on researched facts," Robin pointed out. "For all I know, we could be haunted by evil ghosts—or the whole spooky shadow thing could merely be just a weird coincidence, or something else entirely. I think I want to base my opinion on something more substantial—from a book that seems more researched."

"At least it's something," Raven noted. She looked at the book that still lay open before him.

_Some speculate these dark entities are really—_

"Ready to call it a day, see if we can check out the remainder for the rest of the afternoon?" Robin asked her, closing the book while she was still reading a certain passage from it. She looked up at him, a bit particularly.

"In a hurry?" Raven asked him particularly.

"We still have to stop in at my mentor's lair to see if we can get any further answers," Robin reminded her. "We've been here a few hours—and it's already four o'clock. It won't be long before dusk sets in, and besides—I have to pay for each hour my cycle's parked in that garage."

"Okay," Raven replied. "I guess I lost track of time."

"Let's take these ones that aren't of any use back to their proper shelves—and check out the ones we haven't looked at yet," Robin told her. She nodded. As he was heading to return the ones he'd brought to the table, she followed from a distance—keeping an eye on the shelf he put that one novel he'd read the passage from. She had a haunting suspicion that she needed to read that book in particular further—and she wanted to make sure she could find it.

They were given a thirty-six hour loan for the books—being as they weren't residents or owners of a card for that branch. Robin's identity had been what had made them trustworthy enough to loan them without a card.

Raven had snuck that one title past Robin's attention—him being totally unaware of the fact that she'd gone back for it while they were leaving the premises.

XoXoXoXoXoX

_Lurking in the depths of darkness, beings are hidden, dark and evil entities—_

BANG. Jinx looked up from the book to notice the commotion was coming from above her.

"Hey, be careful with that! If I so much as lose my grip on this pane—it's gonna crash and break into a million pieces, so you better get a good handle on this thing!" Jinx noticed Bumblebee shouting from above—a glass panel in her hand. She was buzzing right in front of an empty gaping hole that could presumably be a window formerly.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who needs to get a handle on their balance!" another voice shouted from indoors. Jinx could just see the slightest outlines of Speedy being the other on who'd voiced their opinion back at Bumblebee. Jinx rolled her eyes at their shenanigans and went back to reading.

—_Entities that resemble every form of hatred and evil that is present in the world— _

"Keep it angled—ANGLED!" Speedy was shouting again. Apparently Jinx couldn't even gain peace enough to read outdoors—

"I'll give you _angled _if you don't quit giving me a lecture on how to install this thing!" Bumblebee exclaimed in a purely aggravated tone.

"Can you two just get that thing figured out or something?" Jinx shouted up at the two of them. "You're shouting is interfering with my reading!"

"You know you should be helping!" Speedy shouted back. Jinx just rolled her eyes, not bothering to even reply.

She tried to read again, blocking out the shouts and curses coming from above with every iota of her being. The sun was starting to fade, and with the text being handwritten on yellowed parchment paper—she really had to struggle with that added burden.

—_They appear as regular shades, but there's more to them than merely that. They have a physical presence to them, a presence that holds malevolence within to their very core—_

"What are you reading?" the inquiry came from right next to her; it took her by surprise, so much so she almost exclaimed aloud and jumped several feet upward. Slightly shaken, she noticed Kid Flash had joined her—was right beside her.

"Some book about shadows," Jinx said in a voice she fought to keep even without showing hints that he'd startled her. She was mostly successful. "I can't tell if it's an actual story, some myth type book, or some kind of info book. All I can tell is the thing is old, dated, and handwritten."

"What does it say about shadows?" Kid Flash asked with interest. Jinx looked at him peculiarly.

"There's entities in them that are evil—that are made up of all the evil that exists in this world," Jinx told him. She looked back at the book. "Apparently they're malicious physical entities that can cause harm to people if there's intent, and most often are seen out of the corner of the eye. I guess people mistake these things for natural shadows or something—or so it says. It states that these things are called _shadow people_ mostly, or kinda specifically—_shadow men."_ She looked back up at him. "Sounds like fiction to me. "

"I don't know," Kid Flash seemed to disagree with her. "The way Bee's team has been complaining about this place being haunted by evil shadows or dark spirits or something—I think there might be some truth to what's written in that book."

"Really?" Jinx remarked. "I kind of haven't been paying attention to everything those guys have been babbling about. I recall from some times I've been up there with them, that they were afraid of something—something in the shadows. I guess I assumed they were just crazy—or fraidy cats. I never really bought the haunted shadow defense—at least, not till now anyways."

"I have to wonder _why_ the tower is being haunted by these _shadow people_ in the first place?" Kid Flash wondered. "Jinx—does it say anywhere in there if there's a reason why those entities hang out where they do?"

"I haven't gotten to that point, I'm gonna have to sift through until I find that out in here," Jinx replied. She began studying the handwritten text very closely, with Kid Flash watching intently over her shoulder. Jinx had a sudden jolt, which in turn startled Kid Flash.

"What'd you come across?" Kid Flash exclaimed. Jinx shuddered; when she turned her head his way her expression—especially her eyes—was disturbed.

"Do you have your communicator handy on you?" Jinx asked him seriously. He looked at her questioningly. "Something about what's in here—I think those two that live in this place need to know about it. So—don't question it anymore—and just hand me your communicator if you happen to have it on you so I can break the news of it myself."

"Okay, here," Kid Flash instantly pulled it out and handed it over to her. "Aren't you going to tell the others up there that you've come across something?"

"After I get done with this," Jinx replied, her tone a little irritated. "They're just not as important right now."

Kid Flash looked at her perplexingly while she opened up his communicator and activated it.


	11. A Literal Answer

[Next chapter is up, enjoy!]

* * *

Chapter 11: A Literal Answer

Robin pulled the cycle in to a stop in the vacant underground parking section of the lair of the great caped crusader—a place that was unusually eerie and still, even for a brooding type such as the owner of it was.

"I was given free reign to come back here to investigate anytime," Robin stated. "Anything that might help in finding out what happened to the Dark Knight himself—I have access to."

"Did you automatically get permission to do that—or did you ask for it when I wasn't around?" Raven asked as she dismounted from the back of the cycle—with his help.

"I came back last night after you'd drifted off to speak briefly with his personal confidant—and he gave me the permission," Robin told her. He helped her with her helmet. It pulled her hair up with it, allowing it to fall free around the frame of her face when the grip on it was loosened. "Not to say that I ever need to ask for it—since they know they can trust me."

"What might give us some clues to his disappearance then?" Raven asked him, taking the helmet from him and setting it aside on the back of the cycle.

"Possibly video feed from the day he was last seen," Robin replied. "Up till today—I'd forgotten that he has this place kept under heavy surveillance. I'm pretty sure at least one of the cameras might've caught something useful—maybe it's even possible in the footage…we'll witness what _really_ happened to him."

"Do you know where the security room that houses the computer database with the back up footage is?" Raven asked him.

"Of course," Robin replied assuredly. "I'll lead the way."

As they made their way through numerous corridors and unfamiliar hallways, she glanced from time to time towards the shadows—at times questioning whether she actually saw some of them _move_—

"Beyond this door is the security room," Robin spoke, taking Raven's attention away from the disturbing yet mesmerizing shadows. He looked at her, noticing her attention had been focused elsewhere before he'd spoken. "Something up—you see something?"

"It could be my eyes playing tricks on me," Raven stated. "I keep seeing the shadows shift out of the corner of my eye."

"He _does_ keep this place kind of gloomy," Robin noted. "Let's get to investigating the footage."

"Okay," Raven said simply.

Robin headed over towards the central computer's monitor, bringing up the database of video footage on store in its hard drive. Each set was kept in a folder marked with the title of the date it was filmed. He went searching through the arrangement of folders for the one in specific he was looking for—double-clicking on it to bring it up when he found it.

"Each file covers about four hours of footage in six piece intervals for each twenty-four hour period," Robin told her. "I just have to isolate it down to the timeframe in which he supposedly left and when he was last seen. I got from conversation I made from several sources that the crash happened around or just after noon, and he was last seen here earlier that day—midmorning, if I recall it right." He selected one piece of footage. "This was taken from the camera located near the control room we were in the last time we were here. It might be the last place any particular camera could've had a chance to get a visual of him before he officially disappeared—if anything happened here at all."

Robin accessed the footage loop he was looking at in particular and loaded it up to view. They both stood over the screen, watching intently at the _in_activity that was recorded on it.

"Looks like he wasn't really present in the control room at this particular hour," Raven remarked. "Can you fast forward a bit through this until we reach a piece of footage he_ happens _to be in?"

"Sure can." Robin advanced the footage ahead until the Dark Knight made his appearance on the footage. It appeared he was just doing a routine checkup on the systems—probably examining that map display Robin had walked in seeing on it when he'd first arrived on the scene.

"Looks pretty normal," Raven noted. "His mannerisms sort of remind me of you."

"Probably because that's where I got them from." They continued to watch the display silently. The video feed was soundless, the room dead silent aside from each breath they took in.

The display remained the same—the Dark Knight working out some details on the console before him, pressing a few key commands here and there, mundane stuff really. It had it become so monotonous for so long that when the scene changed—it took them by surprise much more than it should have.

They heard not a noise that was muttered by the overly shocked figure on the scene. It was all just a visual reaction—his turning towards something unexpected, his readying himself for making a defensive move, and then—the actual struggle he'd been trying to prepare himself for.

The room had already been fairly dimly lit on that video footage—but it instantly grew darker without reason. It loomed thicker and thicker until it seemed as if the darkness held substance with in—a physical sort of substance, much like that of a person—

The dark _figures_ began to overwhelm their target—which, apparently was the caped crusader himself. Showing his will to never back down against a threat, he prepared himself against an indistinguishable foe. He was just about to set in the first blow when the darkness of the living shades obscured the screen completely. Only after several long moments did it return to its usual level of lighting. By that point—there was nobody to be seen standing there. It was just the control panel—operating like it normally would in sleep mode.

Both were staring at the display in disbelief. Robin hesitated in pausing the footage for several dragged out moments. When he finally managed to, the two of them looked at each other with matching expressions of shock.

"Did…we really see—_what I thought we saw?_" Robin exclaimed.

"If you mean that he was taken over and out by shadowlike figures—I'd say yes," Raven replied.

"Shadowlike figures—maybe I shouldn't have discounted what that book was saying," Robin said. "Maybe I should've actually read further into it."

"Well…you're just in luck," Raven stated, getting a questionable expression from him in return. "I snuck that book in with the others while we were running them through the checkout earlier. It's back with the others on your R-cycle."

"What made you—?" Robin began to exclaim, but decide to let it hang. "I guess I should be grateful for that—and we should probably head back to take a look at it." Raven nodded her head in agreement.

Robin closed down the video feed on the console and returned it to its previous running mode. After he was finished with the computer system, the two of them left the room and headed back towards the parking garage.

They were just reaching it when they realized the expanse was cloaked in more shadows then they remembered. Suspicious, their eyes began to dart around, watching—waiting.

Raven summoned up her defense mode as things became more agitated. Robin had himself prepared to whip out his Bo staff if the need did arise. The air was still and heavy, so _still and heavy_—

"Do you have a plan at all, Robin?" Raven asked him. He glanced her way with uncertainty written all over his face.

"There's something you might be able to do if things go south," Robin replied. "Think about it—you should know what I mean."

"I think I do," Raven picked up what he meant quickly, looking down at her clenched fists, surrounded in a dark aura bordered with white.

A figure began to manifest in the darkness, a figure full enough to almost be thought of as human. Its lack of pigmentation—the ability to visibly show a layer of skin to even illustrate a possibility of having any pigmentation—spoke that it was nowhere near being anything _human_—or even alive in the same kind of sense.

As its level of substance completed itself, the figure manifested a set of eyes where eyes would normally be placed—a set of very _in_human eyes that glowed a ghastly unnatural reddish hue. Two more identical manifestations formed right behind the first.

Robin and Raven couldn't help but stare at the manifestations in utter disbelief, further readying themselves for if the ghoulish shades should advance on them and strike.

"What—what do you want with us?" Raven shouted angrily. "Why did you attack Robin's mentor—what purpose did you have behind that? Why did you take away our friends?"

"_You."_ It seemed to be an echo of what she recalled Slade saying in her recollections during that dream. "_We want you."_

"I'm not going to allow you to have her," Robin spoke up in a snarl. "She's my teammate—my friend, and I'm not just about to let you have her!" As if in response, the shades advanced on Raven—as if to act upon their request by taking her by force. Taking note of this, Robin forced his way in to block their move, placing himself before her in a battle stance before she so much as had a chance to gasp.

He and the shadowy figures were about to meet up face to face in an undeterminable fight with an equally undeterminable outcome. Just as one of the figures lashed out towards Robin, Raven reacted instinctively—relocating them elsewhere by teleportation.

She didn't know where they ended up when she completed their relocation. She only had the chance to collapse to her knees in a state of being overwhelmed. When she'd managed to recollect her nerves, she looked over to Robin—and realized he'd been inflicted with an injury by one of the shadow figures just before their departure. He lay there, unconscious, on the cold hard ground.

"Robin!" Raven exclaimed as she rushed over to him. She noticed he wasn't breathing as she knelt beside him on hands and knees. She tried looking for a point of injury—she was in a state of panic. In a state of urgency, she pressed her hands on his chest, hoping she might be able to heal him in order to revive him. She wasn't getting much of a response.

_His heart rate is stable, and his other vitals are normal…why won't he—why can't I seem to revive him?_

In frustration, she began to shed tears in numbers down her face and onto him. She couldn't leave him stuck in some mental stasis—or never have him be revived again.

_He's not breathing, he's not breathing—_

She needed to get him breathing again, and being the only one there—with no clue as to where they were—she would have to be the one to get him to breathe again. Without even giving it a second thought, she leaned in to try resuscitating him—hopefully provide him with that breath of life that would bring him to.

When he coughed and took in his first breath on his own, she pulled away—more than just relieved. She let him recover for a minute, and then hugged him tightly.

"I was so worried," Raven said to him. "You were unconscious, and not breathing—"

"You—revived me?" Robin just managed to exclaim as he coughed again.

"Yeah, I—uh…resuscitated you." Raven let go of him so he could completely clear his throat. When he was through, he looked at her, grateful.

"Thanks, Rae," Robin told her, smiling gratefully. He looked around. "Where'd we end up?" She looked around, unsure of the answer to that.

"I'm—not sure," Raven replied. "I don't think I recognize this place."

"My communicator's GPS tracking locates us as still being in the Gotham City limits," Robin stated, his communicator open and active in one hand. "Now that I think of it—it looks sort of familiar. I think we might be in an alleyway that runs behind the back section of the library."

"Should I bring us back to the garage to get your cycle?" Raven asked him. He indicated no with a shake of his head.

"If those shadow things are still there—it might not be safe," Robin said.

"Should I go there quickly and teleport your cycle away from there to somewhere where it's safe?" Raven asked him. His expression instantly became distraught at her suggestion.

"It's too dangerous for you to go back there, Raven!" Robin exclaimed. "Those things want you for some odd reason, and I'm not about to let you just go walking into their territory to end up getting hurt. I've already seen you end up injured badly—I _don't_ want to have to witness it all over again. For now—we stick together. We'll be fine without my motorcycle for the time being."

"What do you think we should do then?" Raven asked him.

"I think we should find a place to stay for the night—and then worry about everything else in the morning," Robin told her.

"Did you keep any money or credit on you?" Raven asked him. "You didn't leave it all back at your cycle—I hope."

"I fortunately had the sense to keep it all on me," Robin replied. "We just need to get out of here and find wherever we need to be next."

"Do you—feel okay?" Raven asked him, still concerned that the shadow figure's blow against him might still affect him. He nodded with an assuring smile.

"I feel completely fine," Robin reassured her. "Let's get moving. It's getting dark—and the alleys aren't very safe around here after dark, and we're not really equipped for a confrontation with common thugs."

She questioned his statement much like he had when she'd been the one recovering from the injury. She was getting a dose of what he'd felt like before they'd headed off to Gotham in the first place.

XoXoXoXoXoX

They both were exhausted when they finally found a place to crash for the evening. Neither bothered to pay attention to any luxury the room was provided with; they were both more concerned with collapsing onto their beds for the evening.

Raven was washing her face with lukewarm water running from the sink faucet in the room's attached bathroom. She turned the faucet off when the sink was half full. She then dipped her cupped hands into the small pool and withdrew some water to apply it to the moisture craving skin of her face.

She looked up at the mirror before her—watching the water droplets slowly flow downward from her face.

"Those things—they're after me," Raven murmured to her reflection. "But—_why?_ What have they done with the other three—Robin's mentor?" She glanced quickly down at the pooling of water in the sink. "They could have killed Robin—" She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the thought to prevent herself from breaking down at that thought. "Then I'd be…_alone."_ She looked at her reflection again, expression serious. "I've got to—we need to figure out where they might have—" There was a knock at the door.

"Raven?" Robin was calling out for her from the other side of the door.

"Robin?" Raven exclaimed. "Is something wrong? Are you—?"

"I've got Jinx on the communicator—she contacted us to give us some info on something—something she thinks we _both_ should hear," Robin said. Raven sighed in relief.

"I'll be out there in a moment," Raven told him.

"Alright—I'll be waiting." She could hear Robin moving away from the door. She drained the water from the sink and dabbed her face dry with a hotel towel.

XoXoXoXoXoX

"What does Jinx have to say?" Raven asked as she reentered the small hotel room and took a place right next to him where he was sitting.

"Something I think you both would appreciate hearing about," she heard Jinx's voice from the communicating device clutched in Robin's hand. "Something about some really evil _shadows."_

"_Shadows_?" both Robin and Raven managed to exclaim in unison.

"How did you even know—?" Raven started to exclaim.

"I was going through some old books in your room, came across this interesting old title, began reading it—and then Kid Flash reminded me of the fact that some of Bee's team was a little skittish because of shadow or ghosts or _whatever_ in the tower as they were searching for clues to your teammates disappearances. I just read a passage in this I think you guys just gotta know about—because of the danger these things really pose for you."

"_You_ were _in my room?"_ Raven exclaimed angrily. Jinx didn't flinch in response; she actually remained calm.

"Yeah—_I_ was in _your room_," Jinx replied tauntingly. "Jeez—I'm trying to tell you about shadow men or people that could be very dangerous for you two if you encountered them—and you're worried about_ me_ being in _your room?"_

"Right now is not the time to be worrying about this," Robin reminded them both. "We can discuss these kinds of things later. Right now—Jinx, tell us what you were going to tell us about these _shadow people."_

"Shadow people are dark entities made of all the evil bits that exist in this world—the kind of energy that comes off us every time we do something bad—something evil," Jinx said, her taunting teasing attitude from just a moment before completely absent. "In order for things in this world to keep some kind of balance—from going into complete chaos—darkness and light have to balance themselves to one another. Otherwise the world would probably just blow to bits. But—according to this old yellowed text of yours…darkness doesn't want to keep up its end of the deal. It wants to take control over everything—screw the light…good…over completely. It just needs one specific bargaining chip to pull this one off." Jinx paused for dramatic effect. Longer than either could tolerate, and she grinned on that accord.

"Can you just tell us what the bargaining chip is—does it say what it is exactly?" Robin asked irritably.

"Yeah—its very specific on the answer actually," Jinx replied. "This old thing is handwritten—and the writer knew exactly what they were writing about—and to _whom_ specifically." She smiled ironically—with an actual hint of sadness. "It just happens to be your teammate—_the mistress of darkness._"


	12. Shadowed Dilemma

A little longer between updates than the past few. Well_—_chapter 12 is ready and up for reading, so I hope all those reading this enjoy this next installment.

* * *

Chapter 12: Shadowed Dilemma

Raven didn't sleep well after they cut the connection with Jinx for the evening. What Jinx had said—that phrase she'd said—it was weighing heavily on her.

She wasn't sure if Robin struggled to sleep or not; she was too consumed in her own inner thoughts to even concentrate on him as well. She was uncertain what morning would bring—how could she—

_I think that's why they chose your friends as bargaining chips—they knew it would be hard for you not to give in—in exchange for their freedom, _Jinx had stated_. _

_That's a sound theory, _Robin had stated.

_A few things you might need to know about the shadow people: don't take their shadow-like substance for granted—they're actually really dangerous and can cause real physical harm, they have no moral limitations, and they can't approach you when you're in a well lit environment—so I'd suggest keeping the lights on while you sleep tonight, just so they can't get you in your sleep during the night._

The lamp on the bedside table between their two beds' bulb was burning brightly—the overhead light and the one in the bathroom adding to its illumination. It was partially that agitation that made it harder for her to sleep, since Raven was more adjusted to sleeping in the cover of the night.

"Are you asleep, Rae?" she heard Robin speak up. _I guess he couldn't sleep either—_

"No." Raven reclined, looking over at him. "The room's too bright, and—my mind's just caught up in too much thought to get anywhere near winding down to sleep."

"What your mind's muddied up with—does it happen to be about what Jinx said?" Robin asked her. She nodded.

"It bothers me that our teammates—_our friends—_were kidnapped just because of me," Raven replied softly. "What I don't understand is—where did that book come from anyways? I don't even recall having a handwritten novel or anything like that in my collection."

"Is it possible you've forgotten that you had it—that it was shelved for so long that you just don't recall it?" Robin asked her. She clearly indicated no.

"I keep track of every novel I know cataloged in my mind—I wouldn't have one just slip from my memory," Raven told him. "We need to head back tomorrow—I _need_ to see that book Jinx found in my room with my own eyes."

"Do you think it's possible that book might have the info in it that could help us locate the other three?" Robin asked her.

"It's possible—but that not the main reason why I need to see it firsthand," Raven told him. "I want to see if I can figure out where exactly it came from—since books shouldn't just appear out of nowhere, especially in _my_ room."

"We'll pick up some industrial strength flashlights tomorrow and go back to get my R-cycle, but for now—let's just try and get some rest." Robin apparently was weary; something really must have been struggling with him to keep him _awake—_

"Okay. Good night." Raven herself looked as tired as he—but she also had struggled with something like he had.

She wondered how long she'd be struggling with it _this time—_

XoXoXoXoXoX

Armed with heavy-duty flashlights and a lingering case of fatigue, the two cautiously made their way into the parking garage where the R-cycle was located. Raven brought them in through her powers, being on the extra alert to be aware of things when they got in there—to not end up being ambushed by the shadows themselves.

"I don't see any signs of those shadow figures we confronted yesterday," Robin said. They moved their flashlight beams to and fro—only finding them cutting through ordinary shadows.

"They either went elsewhere—or they're hiding where we can't see them, waiting," Raven replied. "I suggest we not wait around for them and just take your motorcycle and leave. This place just makes me...a little uneasy for some reason."

They came around the corner where the motorcycle was parked—sitting there, untouched—like nothing had ever happened. Robin approached it with the full beam illuminating it. The shadows shied back as the light reflected off its metallic finish. He reached for her helmet and handed it over to her.

"Thanks." Raven set her flashlight aside for a moment to put it on. Meanwhile, an unusual sound was made in the shadows—making them both freeze up and then turn to face wherever it was coming from.

"Do—you know what that was?" Robin asked her. She'd removed the helmet, shaking her head no. She quickly bent over to retrieve her flashlight, aiming its beam towards the direction the sound had occurred.

There was some movement. At first they mistook it for the _shadow_ _men_ reappearing—preparing themselves for a good fight if it was necessary. An utterance—what sounded like one made in pain—perplexed them.

_The shadow figures wouldn't be in pain. They weren't substantial enough—so how—?_

"Those sounded—like someone gasping in pain," Robin made note of it aloud, in a low tone. "Is there someone out there? Somebody in need of help?"

There was another utterance like the one before, followed by a distinctly painful groan. That same particular individual followed it up by taking in what sounded like sharp painful breaths.

"Robin—should we trust that _that_ could be someone who needs help—or is it possible that the shadows can mimic noises to fool us into falling into a trap?" Raven asked him. Robin looked uncertain, but he was certain about one thing.

"Either way—whatever the situation is really—we should check it out, just in case it _really is _somebody in need of our help," Robin told her. "We have our flashlights—that should help us at least—in case it is a trap." He led the way towards where the painful utterances were coming from.

When they trained their beams on the source of the sounds—both were in for a shock.

Half conscious—beaten up and bloodied—lay the man that Robin had grown up to respect and think of as a father figure, one he'd never think to see end up down for the count right there in front of his eyes. A figure that issued more blows than ever received in the sense that incapacitates an individual. An idol—the city of Gotham's great Dark Knight—struck down like any every-day man—in a manner Robin couldn't even possibly fathom.

Raven recognized easily whom the individual was, even if his cover was blown right before her—identifying garb and mask absent. She could tell by the way Robin was reacting to the sight—his expression as if he'd been stricken with a severe blow against his morale—

"I'm sorry," Raven murmured as she watched him struggling internally and externally. "If there's anything I can do—"

"We need to get him to a doctor," Robin said in a grief stricken tone. "Without blowing his identity." He struggled to get himself together—expression serious. "I'm going to make a few contacts. When they arrive, I want you to help me with him—and…just be my support."

"I'll do that, Robin," Raven replied, trying to smile to be reassuring. It helped him some—she noticed. He got out his communicator and made a few calls.

"I'm going into the complex for a moment, can you watch over him until I get back?" Robin asked her.

"Y-yes." Raven wasn't too thrilled about the prospects of the shadows coming out of hiding while he was gone, but she knew she couldn't let it get to her. "Just—be quick."

"I will," Robin said truthfully. "I promise."

Raven heard the sound of him running off to get help, his footfalls echoing heavily against the walls of the parking complex. She knelt down beside the half conscious, struggling in pain man that she felt so much sympathy for. She reached out her hand to where he was most injured, hoping to at least ease some of the pain of the Hero of Gotham until Robin could return with more real help.

XoXoXoXoXoX

The returning trip had even more of a dismal sense to it then before they'd originally intended to head out. The thought of seeing someone he looked up to practically a few inches away from meeting his final battle left Robin's mentality caught up in a quagmire of grief and guilt. It was almost enough to affect his driving.

_Lacerations he received in whatever put him in this condition came this close to severing his most vital artery_, the doctor had explained to Robin, indicating with his fingers a small margin.

He'd gone in—with Raven—in an everyday sort of garb, nothing too distinguishable from a normal teen. Out of courtesy—and possibly to fit in—Raven had done much the same; a normal shirt, jeans…something she'd had to pick up during their isolation away from the R-cycle—just in case.

_Can he be stabilized—heal, function—ever be able to fully function ever again?_ Robin had asked. He remembered asking that question specifically—and the assuring smile the doctor followed it up with.

_The injuries are severe—but he should make a full recovery_, the doctor's smile was convincingly assuring—even Raven had completely believed him; she even later told him so. _Your father should be back on his feet in no time._

_That's good to know._ It had been a good enough cover. Bruce was as close to a father figure as he'd ever known—at least from an early age. He'd been orphaned young—taken under his wing not long afterward, raised and mentored under him until he struck out on his own. He felt guilty that someone he held so much respect for—looked up to so much—would end up hospitalized possibly because of his greatest archenemy, while he'd been out chasing shadows. He would really have to give Slade a piece of his mind over this when he finally confronted him—

_It almost appears as if the injuries were more severe than they appear,_ Robin recalled the doctor adding. _He must have had a guardian angel or something there with him to ease some of the pain and damage away._ Robin instantly knew that was Raven's touch; she had the ability to heal, and she had been there with him while he'd run off for help—

"Robin, are you handling it all okay?" Raven's voice took him away from his thoughts of the hospital, the severely injured Bruce Wayne, and the healer who'd just asked him a question. Robin realized she was asking out of concern—it carried in her voice.

"I'm holding up," Robin replied, surprisingly even and calm. "Why do you ask?"

"I-I'm just….I don't know—a little worried, that's all," Raven replied. "I know he means a lot to you, and—I know when something happens to people you care about…well—you end up feeling responsible in some way, and—at times…need to find an outlet to take it out on." He felt more pressure from his sides where her hands were placed. "I just—sometimes…worry that it'll consume you—like it always used to. This time—it's just not the right time for it. We _need _to find the others—I want that to be the priority."

"You never used to worry, Rae," Robin reminded her. "You were the one who always seemed to be the least worried when things always started going south. What's changed that?"

"Over the years—so much has changed," Raven replied. "In this whole incident—from the time you left us up till your mentor was struck down—things for me have changed. I always have worried about you—our friends—even if I wasn't allowed to express it. You guys mean a lot to me. The thought of being alone—"

"Rae—you're not going to ever be alone," Robin assured her. Traffic was at a standstill up ahead. "Ugh, looks like I should take a detour to the library—the road's still congested up in here."

"Hopefully they get that taken care of soon," Raven said. Robin agreed inwardly, taking the opportunity to turn down another side street to get to where they were headed faster.

XoXoXoXoXoX

While Robin had been busy discussing a few things with the doctors back at the hospital, Raven had taken that opportunity to research the library book that had been stranded on the R-cycle overnight.

She'd gone off to a vacant waiting area with the three pieces of literature and took a seat in the further most corner chair, away from as much of the hospital noises as possible. She'd opened each and began researching them while she waited around, concentration complete on the materials and nothing else.

The two books they'd checked out that they hadn't looked through before were pretty much useless; neither had any information remotely on shadows or _shadow men._ The closest thing was one lecture in demonology and the philosophy of it. That last book—the chance book—looked to be the crowning jewel of the bunch, the only one that they found that could be of any use to them.

What Robin had shrugged off as just _fiction _or _simple speculation_ turned out to have information in it that came very close to what Jinx had relayed to them over the communicator the evening before. She wasn't sure if this book was more complete or less so than the one Jinx had found—but she knew they both ran along the same vein in their content of information.

_They exist in their own realm outside the norm—in a sense where they are not only just shadows, but also full-fleshed beings; the Shadow Realm—a realm parallel to our own—one that is a realm of evil—_

Something drew her eyes towards the end of one paragraph at the bottom of the page to the right side of the section she was currently reading. Instinctively, she aimed her eyes away from where they were downwards towards were they were being drawn.

_Mistress—_

The entry ended abruptly on that page—requiring that she turn the page to read it further. When she'd done so—her eyes widened.

—_Of darkness—_

Raven read over the whole paragraph to get a full sense of what it was about. Her eyes became even wider as a result.

She'd always regretted who she was—but she couldn't help but regret it even more just knowing that fact put her friends in danger.

_The fact that my father is—_

_Evil._ That's what they wanted, what they were after—it had to do with the fact that she was born half pure evil. Shadows were made up of darkness—entities of evil—craving their _savior, the daughter of pure evil—_

She'd had enough of what that book was telling her. She set it aside and waited for Robin to show up.

Her mind had been occupied as they'd left the hospital grounds heading back towards the library to return the books before they left town. Raven couldn't help but mull over the information she'd read about as they reached the parking stall where his bike was parked.

_Those shadows want me because of my evil side, _Raven couldn't help thinking to herself. _It's because of me—who I am—that my friends are in danger to begin with—_

"Rae, is something bothering you?" Robin noticed her caught in thought, the troubled looked on her face because of what she was thinking about. He stood beside his bike—marked concern on his face as he looked her way. "You look like something's on you mind."

"Sometimes I think you can read me too well," Raven replied, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes momentarily. "I've just been—pondering over something I came across in this book while I was looking over it in the hospital."

"Like what exactly?" Robin asked, handing her the helmet for the ride. She took it from him.

"It stated that—the _shadows_ want me because of the fact that I—that I'm part evil," Raven replied, just before she put her helmet on. "I guess—reading that has made me feel partially responsible for what happened to our friends...and that _I'm _the reason they're in danger in the first place." Robin approached her, laying his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Rae—don't blame yourself for all that's happened," Robin reassured her. "Even if it might seem like it—none of this is really your fault. Slade's just playing off the info in that book for his own purposes—that's just the kind of thing he does." He smiled at her reassuringly. "I know you, and—that's not the kind of thing I'd ever expect you to do."

"I just—feel a little guilty about the whole _mistress of darkness _reference, how it I'm the one it's being referenced towards," Raven told him. She looked at him with pain in her eyes. "I don't want any of you hurt because of all of this, especially after what happened to Bruce—and what almost happened to you last night."

"Rae—just forget about the whole thing with the _mistress of darkness—_that part of you is all in the past," Robin told her. "The Raven I know isn't evil—and that's the only Raven I know you to be. All this evil stuff is part of the past; that where you should put it—keep it." He stopped for a moment, and then felt like adding, "You wouldn't have bothered to heal Bruce if you were really all that evil."

"You're probably right, Robin." Raven managed a faint smile. She looked out from the parking shelter up towards the patch of dusky sky overhead. "We should probably be on our way. It's getting late; we still have to make a trip to the library to drop these books off, and—we still have a long travel ahead of us."

"Stash the books in my knapsack, and then we'll be on our way," Robin told her. She nodded, doing just that. He'd already boarded his cycle by the time she'd zipped the bag up.

She carefully got on behind him. Before he turned the ignition on to start the motorcycle on, he turned his head towards her.

"Rae—I have a lot of faith in you," Robin told her. "Never forget that, okay?"

"I won't," Raven promised. He turned his attention back towards starting the bike up.

"That's good," Robin stated before he revved the engine. "Are you holding on securely back there?"

"Yeah," Raven responded, tightening her grip around his waist slightly as an indication.

"Let's head then." Robin picked his feet up off the pavement as revved the engine to life, and then they were out of there.

The books were returned and the city long behind them. Both felt somber as night started setting in and a chill filled the air.

"Bumblebee said she'll be in the city waiting for us when we get into town in a couple days," Robin broke the chilling silence. "Jinx filled them in on everything—they've been keeping their eyes open for _shadow men_ sightings in the meantime. They've also apparently been busy fixing up the tower for us while we were gone."

"I'm glad about that," Raven replied. "I've been away from home so long—I'm starting to forget what it is."

"They've managed to get the electric up and running, the window in Star's room fixed—and the common room completely revamped and fixed up," Robin added. "It should feel more like a homecoming than it would've before."

"Well—almost." Raven thought about what was missing. Robin knew immediately what she meant—and couldn't help but agree.

"We'll fix that," Robin assured her, his mood lightened up somewhat. "We'll get them back." He felt her holding on more tightly. Contented with that fact—he pressed on into the night on the seemingly boundless highway, until they came to a point where they could comfortably stop.

* * *

I hope this chapter was interesting. I'd love to get some input, positive and constructive. I'm held in suspense wondering how this is being received, both in the positive sense and the lesser than so. I'd love to get some reviews.

(Does that seem a little pushy? I guess reading over numerous fanfics as of late, and noticing the authors pushing for reviews has left an imprint on me in some way with that lol XD)

~Mara


	13. Dark Realm

Another chapter is up and ready, enjoy!

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Chapter 13: Dark Realm

The air was dank and stale—heavy with each breath taken in. Everything was blanketed in darkness—yet there was enough light to see himself in this hapless void he was imprisoned in—

Beast Boy couldn't keep track of how much time had passed since he'd awoken to find himself in this void Slade had left him in. It seemed to continue on in the distance with no end—no exit, _escape. _He had no clue where the other two were being held either; they could be anywhere in the void—or even somewhere else entirely—

He'd been working on the bindings on his wrists for some time—twisting them to and fro to loosen them bit by bit. He could tell his efforts were paying off; he could feel that the bindings were much looser than they'd started off being—

Slade and his shadowy henchmen—or _whatever they were_—were nowhere to be seen, or heard, and it had been that way for quite some time. They probably figured he wasn't worth the while to keep extra close attention on—the other two were more capable of concocting escape plans; _he is just the goofy comedy relief—_

_Just a little bit more,_ he told himself. _You only have to twist it a little more—_

Success; The bindings fell loosely from his wrists towards the darkened surface where he stood. He brought them up from behind his back where they'd been imprisoned for so long that they were stiff—examining them in the minimal yet adequate light, flexing them as he did so. They were a little sore—but still in good working order.

_Now all I have to do is find a way outta here,_ he told himself. _Find out were the other two are being kept up—and contact Raven or Robin to let them know what's going on._

_Raven._ He thought about what he'd said to her the last time they'd spoken. She had seriously been concerned—and he'd blown her off with a silly comment that left her walking away feeling somewhat insulted by him.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ He yelled at himself internally. _She'd been right all along—and I treated it like it all was a joke. Here I am, telling myself to grow up—_

His communicator just happened to still be on him. He was happy that it was never apprehended while he was out of it—or even noticed that it was on him to begin with—

He just hoped that—wherever he was—that it would work, and he'd get a connection with one of his two teammates still out there—possibly still safe—

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

Homecoming couldn't be any sweeter—or sobering.

The tower stood alone on its island—darkened and sullen to the eye as Robin drove them nearer. The sky above a dismal slate gray—the air a near teeth-chattering chill. It was almost as if Mother Nature was playing this deck of cards intentionally—

"Home." Raven's voice had sounded so oddly sullen when that single word escaped from her mouth. Neither could tell if it was the atmosphere that created that sense in them, or if they themselves were feeling it on their own accord.

"Yeah," Robin replied just as simply—and just as heavily laced with a sullen sense to it. He couldn't wait to get there, yet at the same time—he wanted to get further away—

He parked it in the garage. She waited for him to steady the cycle before she even bothered to dismount. He gave her the cue—and she carefully got off from behind him.

"Almost like it was when we left—beside the fact that the electric's working again," Raven noted. "Do you know if they'll be here—or will Bee and her team still be out at wherever they've been staying?"

"She said they'd be here," Robin told her. "She intended to keep them camped up in the tower for the next couple days until we got back—just so that we wouldn't miss each other."

"We should just…head up then?" Raven asked him. He nodded.

"Pretty much." Not hesitating, Robin headed towards the elevator. Raven followed closely behind him.

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

The darkness had felt too eternal—too _chilling_—for a soul quite like hers—

_Even for someone like her—_

This was an evil she couldn't fight. Its concentration was too much; _too much—_

Starfire's morale had drained out of her long ago; she couldn't tell what length of time she'd been trapped there—left in the dark to be tortured—left alone to go mad—

She'd started out with a fighting spirit, having hope that she'd see light again outside of what she manifested—see her friends—all of them, again. She'd fought—lashing out with her greatest amount of strength and level of light that she could muster from her eyes and fists, but something had torn away at that ability to fight, what gave her the strength to use her powers to fight with in the first place.

Darkness loomed over—filled with despaired whispers. She couldn't help but wonder if lost souls still lingered out there—not able to find their way back to where they needed to be.

"Will I—become one of them?" she murmured aloud to herself. "Will I too become—a lost soul?"

She kept hearing the whispers—despaired, desperate—even violent—tongues lashing out cries and insults while the hosts remained invisible against the darkness. If she didn't know how tangible those voices were, she'd believe that she was losing sight of her sanity.

It as was as if the darkness itself knew all her fears—had access to every facet of her mind—only to use it against her. She wasn't sure if her two other imprisoned teammates were being put under the same kind of mental torture as she, but she knew it was really taking its toll on her.

Her deepest nightmares—ones buried so deep she didn't even fathom them until she witnessed them, there—firsthand—had left their scars on her. Damaged her enough where she was incapable of even using her powers as a defense mechanism.

Or even use any of them _at all_—

She just wanted so bad to escape this nightmare—and never have to think about it again. It was the only motivation she really had left—her only real salvation from madness for the time being.

_It will come to an end,_ she told herself as confidently as she could even bother to muster internally.

_Or so…I hope._

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

The elevator doors parted, revealing to Robin and Raven a surprise to be seen. The common room beyond the elevator's doors was clean, bright—and put together. What was once shattered was pieced together or replaced. What was torn or knocked down was once again in its rightful place.

In the middle of the revamped space stood Bumblebee, who was giving instruction to her team and tagalongs on some last minute details. She didn't notice the two had made their homecoming until she heard the gasps of shock coming from the direction of the elevator. She looked over to them then—with a big grin.

"So—you like?" Bumblebee asked the two of them. Both just nodded, a little too awestruck to speak immediately.

"It almost looks like it did before," Robin eventually managed to comment after a few moments.

"So—how was your journey to Gotham City?" Bumblebee inquired. She took note when the question struck a wrong cord from the change of the expressions on their faces in response.

"Not so good," Raven was the one to reply. "Someone Robin's particularly close to was critically injured while we were there—and it's hit him hard. We had a little luck finding some answers, but—it was mostly a disappointment in one way or another."

"Sorry to hear about that," Speedy spoke up from the kitchen. "That's gotta be a big letdown."

"Yeah—it was, but at least we managed to acquire some answers while we were there," Robin stated. He exhaustively went and collapsed onto the sectional.

"Where's Jinx?" Raven asked. Bumblebee shrugged.

"That girl just comes and goes as she pleases," Bumblebee remarked. "She didn't stick around inside to help us out more—and she spent more time reading outdoors then she did helping in here."

"I know where she is." It was Kid Flash that spoke up. "She's hanging around outside—on the grounds around the tower."

"Does she have_ my book_ with her still?" Raven asked him. He nodded.

"I can go get her—if you'd like," Kid Flash stated helpfully. Raven smiled.

"I'd appreciate it." While she waited for Jinx to show—Raven joined Robin on the sectional, just taking the moment to relax and breathe.

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

He could hear the derailing, despaired voices coming at him from all around him, but he chose to block them out. He didn't appreciate the influence they were trying to have on him—and he found ignoring them more to his liking than listening to them.

Beast Boy wasn't getting much of a break from the monotonous darkness shrouding him in from all angles; the further he travelled, the farther they stretched.

He couldn't find Cyborg or Starfire anywhere. He'd tried his communicator to get in contact with the two of them—while just receiving a crackling sound and a blank screen in response.

At first he was certain that if he couldn't get through to them—it was pretty hopeless to try reaching out to the other two. For some reason—the thought kept lingering in his mind to at least attempt to reach out to them—that it could work. After lingering for a while, it decided to become more demanding.

_Try to contact Robin and Raven_, that inner voice insisted in a demanding sort of way. _What have you got to lose at trying it out?_

_I don't have anything to lose,_ he told that voice. _I have only the possibility of gaining something._

He looked down at his communicator, a growing sense of determination building up within him.

He opened to device up, pressing the required buttons to get the right connection. To his great shock—he got a response.

"Hey, it's me—Beast Boy."

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

Jinx stepped into the common room from where the elevator was located; toting the book she'd taken from Raven's room under one arm. When Raven noticed her enter, she looked closely at the book she had with her—examining it as she approached.

_That's not one of my books—_

"Is that the book you took from my room when you were in there?" Raven asked as Jinx came up close. Jinx took the book from under her arm with her opposite hand, holding it up.

"Yeah—this is it," Jinx confirmed. "It just _conveniently_ fell off the shelf for me while I was up there."

"Well—that's _not_ one of mine," Raven stated. "I'm not sure how it got up there, but—I don't recognize it at all."

"That's unfortunate—because I wanted to ask you who handwrote the thing," Jinx replied. "Thought maybe you knew the author personally."

"Can I see that book?" Raven asked her. Jinx handed it over without hesitation. Raven took it from her, opening it and began to page through it quickly. "I'm not familiar with this handwriting in particular. Whoever wrote this—we've never met, I'm pretty sure of it. How'd you come across it again?"

"I heard a thud while I was looking through your library—and it just happened to be lying there," Jinx explained, shrugging. "I thought the thing fell off one of those shelves—or one of Bee's team was trying to play me for laughs. The thought that that thing just _popped_ out of thin air didn't occur to me really."

"It's almost like someone wanted you to find this," Raven said. She started to read the book more thoroughly, at first finding the handwriting to be a little hard to read.

_The material is similar to the info I got out of that library book—except this is in much greater detail—_

"Apparently there's something called the shadow realm—kinda similar to another dimension—that these _shadow people_ really exist in, like their own little world they exist in completely separate from our own," Jinx stated. "Their realm in a way overlaps ours, and yet, at the same time—is completely separate. What separates the two is nothing more than a thin veil really. It wouldn't take much for that little barrier to be removed—and have everything we know become obliterated by darkness."

"It never did," Raven said. She continued to read, with Jinx and Robin silently observing. While she was caught up in her literature, Robin was startled by the sound of his communicator going off.

Raven looked up from her reading, alarmed—exchanging glances with Robin, who shared the same expression.

"It's not me," Raven stated.

"It's not any of us," Bumblebee spoke up for her team—who were all currently present working on the finishing touches still. Perplexed, Robin didn't know what to make of it.

"Well—aren't you going to answer the thing?" Jinx asked him insistently. He hesitated a moment, and then nodded.

"Yeah." Robin reached for the device, and activated it. He almost jumped back in surprise when he noticed the one on the receiving end was Beast Boy.

"Hey—it's me, Beast Boy," he said from the other end. "It took you long enough to answer."

"BB?" Robin exclaimed, still flabbergasted. "W-where are you—what happened?"

"Well, long story short—Slade came in with these new henchmen without any warning—and brought us each separately to this big black void place. I was out cold when I was brought here—so I really don't know _exactly_ where I am, or how I got here. I can't seem to locate the other two here either," Beast Boy replied. "They caught us each by surprise—while we were already separated. I don't know his whole motive behind this either—besides the fact that Slade wants to bargain us in exchange for Raven. I told him that wasn't gonna happen."

"Have you been harmed in any way?" Raven asked him. Beast Boy assuredly shook his head with a characteristic grin.

"Besides some twine wear to the wrists from them being bound—I'm no worse for wear," Beast Boy reassured them. "The other two though—I can't really say the same, since I really don't know."

"Were any other prisoners mentioned or present while you've been there?" Robin asked out of his own curiosity. Beast Boy took a moment to think.

"Slade _did_ bring up some guy being tortured or something in front of me," Beast Boy replied. "Not sure who he was—but I do recall that."

"I see." Robin struggled to hold back his anger. Raven tried reassuring him, and Beast Boy took notice.

"Was there someone else you happen to know that got caught up in this—that was that guy?" Beast Boy asked him.

"Yes—somebody I know personally, that I_ had _to rush off to the hospital because of what Slade did to him," Robin replied with a hint of anger.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Beast Boy replied sincerely.

"Do you know if there's a way to get to where you are from here?" Raven asked him. "A portal—anything?"

"There's nothing here," Beast Boy replied. "This place is just an empty void."

"That book states that there are tears in the fabric between the two worlds where somebody has been crossed over from this side over to there," Jinx spoke up. "Something about having someone travel from here to there weakens the barrier between the two—making these points _access points_ or something for a person with the right abilities I guess."

"What kind of abilities?" Raven turned to Jinx.

"The power to travel through space quickly—teleporting, I think it is," Jinx replied.

"Where would the _access points_ be then?" Robin asked.

"One would probably be Star's room," Raven stated.

"Or my room—where I was nabbed," Beast Boy added.

"Or where I discovered my mentor bloody and half conscious," Robin murmured mostly to himself. Raven overheard him, gazing at him sympathetically.

"Or possibly your room," Jinx said to Raven. "The book mentioned something about more shadowy activity at places where the barriers were temporarily broken—and that place has been one of the hotspots for the bizarre _haunting _activity. Actually—a lot of that same floor has been thought of as_ haunted_ since we got here."

"While you guys try to figure out a way to get here from there—I'll go see if I can find Star and Cy in this place," Beast Boy said from the other end of the communicator. "That is—if they're around here to be found, that is."

"Okay, BB," Robin told him. "That sounds good."

"Oh—before we disconnect—can you hand the communicator over to Rae for me?" Beast Boy asked. Robin nodded. He looked over to her.

"Beast Boy wants to talk to you," Robin told her. She looked at him particularly for a moment, and then took the communicator from him.

"What did you need?" Raven asked him.

"I just want to say—I'm sorry," Beast Boy said to her. "For being such a pain before all this happened. I was being a jerk, and I felt bad about it after the fact."

"Apology accepted," Raven replied.

"Well, I guess…I'll see you guys on the flipside then," Beast Boy said half jokingly. For once, Raven smiled in response.

"Yeah," Raven replied, picking up the irony in his statement, which she wasn't even sure he was aware of. "On the flipside." He grinned before the connection was dropped and the screen went blank. Raven looked up to Robin with a new sense of hope—and handed his communicator back to him.

He took it—with a hint of a smile.

* * *

(A.N.: I've got this story pretty much plotted out, and it's quite lengthy. It'll be more than the next few chapters before the conclusion, just in case anyone might be wondering. Hope y'all are enjoying, R&R and thanks for reading!)

~Mara


	14. 2 Divided

(WOOT! A longer chapter! Thanks for all the folks who've set this fic up for story alerts or up in their faves. I appreciate it much :)

* * *

Chapter 14: 2 Divided

Raven thoroughly studied that yellowed text Jinx had discovered by _accident _in her room, finishing it in a couple hours time. While she'd been occupied with that, Robin was taking the opportunity to just breathe, relax—take a break from the stress that had already taken a staggering toll on him mentally.

Raven found him sitting on the ledge of the roof, watching the sun depart on the horizon.

"Have you had the chance to release all the stress you've been under since—the _incident?"_ Raven asked him as she joined him on the ledge. He looked up to her as she joined him, contented by her presence.

"Yeah—I have," Robin replied, knowing what she meant by _the incident_. "Have you managed to find any answers that might help in that book?"

"Actually—yes," Raven replied. "It's almost as if it was planted there purposely for someone to find it—whether it was me or someone who just _happened_ to be intruding."

"Anything on how we access this other realm specifically?" Robin asked her. She nodded.

"Beside the fact that one needs to be able to teleport to get from here to there—my telekinetic powers are also useful, in the sense that when I move objects, I tend to do so with dark matter I myself create," Raven replied. In a lower tone, she added, "I also found out that's one of the reasons they want me too; I can apparently move _shadows_—in a sense."

"Rae—the _shadows_ might think they need you—but they're _not_ going to get you," Robin said to her. "With Slade—we don't bargain, and…you're not a bargaining chip."

"Thanks, Robin," Raven looked at him, smiling. "While I was busy, have you heard anything on Bruce's condition at all?"

"He's in stable condition—and improving," Robin replied.

"That's good to hear," Raven replied. Both looked out towards the sunset; for once Mother Nature wasn't pouring all her sorrow into the weather, instead allowing something peaceful and beautiful to shine through—

"I've been meaning to thank you for what you did for him," Robin spoke after a long pause; she looked at him questioningly.

"What—do you mean?" Raven asked him.

"Healing Bruce while I was away getting help," Robin explained to her. "It helped—and it might've been what saved him. I wanted to thank you for doing that for him—for me. I really appreciate it."

"It was what I could do to help," Raven said, her gaze meeting with his. "I knew what it would mean to you, and—I just couldn't bear to see him struggling like that."

"Rae—we've seen a lot together since this began, been through a lot since it's been just the two of us against the darkness of the world," Robin said to her. She nodded in agreement, unconsciously finding herself resting up against his shoulder. "Do you still feel any effects from any injuries you received during that struggle you had in Star's room the day the other three went missing?"

"Only a bit of tenderness to the shoulder that took most of the impact—and mentally of course," Raven replied. She turned her head to look at him. "Were there any lasting effects from that strike you took back at Bruce's hidden lair when we were ambushed by those shadows? I've been wondering if that might've affected you more than just rendering you unconscious."

"I haven't noticed any lasting effects," Robin told her. "Maybe whatever you did to revive me kept me from being affected by it for the long term."

"I, uh—yeah," Raven stammered, looking sheepish and slightly blushing unconsciously. "I didn't do anything mystical—or with my powers—when I was trying to revive you. I just…resuscitated you. That's all."

"Chest compressions—that sort of thing?" Robin said. She strangely looked embarrassed to him, he noticed.

"Not just that," Raven replied, still looking a little sheepish. For what reason—he was oblivious. "I—also had to do this." She moved without much effort closer to him, shifting herself as she came in nearer. He didn't react—he didn't get the chance to. She had no resistance making the intended contact with him whatsoever. When she had parted and they both had opened their eyes and were looking at each other, he wasn't sure if she was embarrassed because she had only done that to demonstrate a point—or that she might've actually wanted to do that. "It was…mostly—mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

"Was that done as a demonstration—or did you intend to kiss me?" Robin ended up asking her out of curiosity. She looked uncertain—like she didn't exactly have an answer.

"I—will leave that up to you to decide." Raven looked at him, expression serious, face hinted with the slightest rouge—which wasn't an effect from the setting sun on the distant horizon—"But—not until after this is all over with, and we get them back. Right now…is not the right time—it's too premature…with them being absent and all."

"If you say so," Robin replied. She had turned her attention back to the horizon—the sun setting on it. He turned his gaze to her as her attention was focused on the amber orb on the edge of the horizon, his one lone teammate sitting right beside him—the one he'd spent most of his time with since the day he'd come back to find her alone in the tower—battered and beaten—

She had recovered, but he couldn't forget those fraught-filled moments where he wasn't sure she was going to pull through. Since that day, she hadn't left his mind—he knew that as he watched her, as she remained by his side right at that moment—

_One moment where the light takes the opportunity to eclipse the darkness—and gives us proof in the most magnificent way possible—_

It was the one moment where they both felt free of the darkness, the burdens of it weighing them down—body, mind, and soul.

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

The void was dark and seemingly infinite; Beast Boy felt like he'd been trekking along the same path for eons. The other thing about it all that irked him was the fact that his footfalls came up silent—no echoing as each foot made contact with the supposed solid surface he stood upon.

_It's so—dead_, he observed silently to himself. _Eerie—_

Suddenly—something broke the silence. Small clacking noises echoed from here, there—everywhere—it was hard to tell what it was or where it was coming from. The sounds intensified and became more pronounced as the moments passed, perplexing him even more.

"Yo—something out there making that noise?" Beast Boy shouted to _whatever_, just hoping in his gut that it wasn't one of those shadowy beings. To his great relief, Cyborg abruptly materialized out of the shadows.

"Long time—no see," Cyborg commented as he came up close to his friend in the blackness of the void. "What've ya been up to all this time?"

"Trying to deal with those voices coming from the shadows, Slade's pompous attitude when he'd come around—and trying to wriggle out of whatever he used to bind my hands behind my back," Beast Boy said. "Also add trying to find a way to keep myself from going insane in this place—and contacting the other two when I thought to do it."

"Did you get in contact with either of them?" Cyborg inquired curiously. "I've been trying for ages on mine—but I think something's jamming it. There must be something interfering with it in this reality or something."

"I actually got both," Beast Boy told him. "I guess Raven got him back before she could get hurt too."

"Do they have any clues on how to get us all outta this place?" Cyborg asked him. "You—have been hearing voices?"

"Yeah, and yeah," Beast Boy replied. "They found some book with all the answers in it, and yeah—I keep hearing these depressing voices trying to scare me by saying things to me to bring up things in my mind I don't want to think of. I've been mostly blocking them out to keep my sanity. Thinking what those creepy suggestions could do to me if I actually listened to them—" He shuddered.

"I keep hearing something that sounds similar to that, but for some reason my mind malfunctions on trying to pick up every word said," Cyborg stated. "It mostly just comes back as a bunch of gibberish. This is _one time_ where I actually _appreciate_ that half my mind's mechanical." He tapped the side of his head as further indication. He glanced around the dark void for a moment. "How are those two doing in the real world anyways?"

"Somebody Robin knows got caught up in this mess—and was beat up pretty bad," Beast Boy told him. "It apparently was something that involved Slade—because I overheard him talking about a guy little while back."

"I see." Cyborg shook his head sadly. "How about Raven?"

"She _seems _to be her usual self," Beast Boy replied. "She was moving about and talking normally; if something has happened to her at all in this—it didn't show. But you know how she is—if something _really bad_ did happen to her—she'd probably hold it back unless it got to be too much."

"I have to hope Slade didn't do anything to that girl that he'll regret," Cyborg said very seriously without any trace of humor. "I'll give him a piece of my mind if he did—and I'm sure Robin will too."

"I think we all would," Beast Boy agreed. "Hey—I've been looking everywhere…have you seen Star around here anywhere? I've been kinda wondering if she'd even here at all at times."

"Yeah, man—she's here," Cyborg replied, on an oddly solemn note. "She's not holding up all that well I'm afraid though."

Beast Boy stared at him with wide eyes, shock and alarm clearly evident on his face.

"What did Slade _do _to her?" Beast Boy voice was filled with just as much alarm as his expression.

"She won't say exactly—but she physically looks okay," Cyborg surmised. "But that only goes so far. From the way I see it—I think those voices got to her, and she wasn't able to block them out like we were able to. She seemed so pitiful—it pulled at my heartstrings to see her cry uncontrollably as I kept reassuring her that I was really there—that she really wasn't alone anymore. I don't think she's going to be the same when all this is over. Whatever those voices have been telling her—they've left a mark."

"Hope that's not gonna be the truth," Beast Boy replied somberly. "Things wouldn't be the same without a cheerful Starfire being present."

"I get what you mean, man," Cyborg replied somberly. "Do ya want to go see if you can cheer her up some?"

"Right now—that's probably the only thing we _can _do," Beast Boy said. "Until Robin and Raven manage to make their way here—there's not much we can do."

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

_I'll trying searching out the best access point in the morning, so we can try and get through the barrier then,_ Raven had told Robin before they departed from the roof. _Tonight…I'm just too tired, and—I really don't want to mess this up._

_I understand,_ Robin had told her, taking her hands in his as reassurance. _Traveling over the last few days—we're both exhausted, and I know your powers are only reliable when you're alert enough to control them._

_Call it a night then?_ Raven had asked. He'd nodded, and then—another grueling question crossed her mind. _Is it safe to sleep in our own rooms—all alone?_

He'd looked as clueless about her question as she had; He didn't answer for a long drawn out moment.

_My room's probably safer, so—we'll camp in there,_ Robin had replied. _I'll get a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor—you can have my bed for the night._

She hadn't felt right about intruding in on him, but she didn't feel right in her own room alone either. She grudgingly accepted his offer, and the two had gone to her room to gather some stuff she'd need.

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

Bumblebee and her team were staying elsewhere for the evening; they didn't feel right intruding in on them by staying there. Whether Jinx and Kid Flash had joined them or went elsewhere was up in the air. Regardless, Raven and Robin already had it firmly planted in their minds that they'd be the only two there for the evening.

He'd grabbed an extra comforter and a sleeping bag and headed for the floor, stuffing some bulky pillows he'd picked up from around the tower inside the sleeping bag and zipping it up when it was full. He took a fitted sheet and framed it over the stuffed sleeping bag, placing a regular sheet atop it and finishing it up with the comforter over it.

Raven had been watching—standing there and feeling out of place. She felt like she was intruding in his room, that she had no right to be there. All the same though—Robin didn't show any signs that he thought the same. To him, it was safer there—she _needed_ to be there to remain safe. She got the feeling he felt he needed to be overprotective since she was attacked and he'd found her severely injured as a result. She hadn't really realized it before—_that had really affected him_—

"You need your rest as much as I need mine, so—you should probably get yourself situated and try to catch a few winks," Robin said to her after he'd gotten his _accommodations_ ready for the evening. "The bed's not uncomfortable—at least…it isn't for me. I hope it isn't for you."

"A bed's a bed," Raven stated. "It…should be fine." He was already readying himself for slumber. She was still standing there while he was practically prepared to sleep. Shrugging, she took a seat on the bed _he _would usually sleep on, gently removing her shoes and unclasping her cloak to set them aside for the evening. By the time she was ready to go to sleep herself—the covers pulled up around her and her head resting against the pillow—he was apparently already out.

"I guess he was exhausted," she murmured as she closed her own eyelids and tried to get to sleep. Eventually, she drifted off.

XoXoXoXoXoXoX

_I see a world caught up in ignited embers glowing bright—remnants of burning remains of what I once cherished—it is…truly tragic—_

As if to illustrate—there were flames all around, what looked to be the remains of a city burning bright that transitioned quickly through a cycle until what was left was the smoldering embers of the remnants of a city.

A city that looked awfully familiar—

The perception was shattered—almost as if seen between two individuals, and not just one. The first perspective had been the one who'd spoken about the city alight—how tragic it was to see—

The other was her own—her known conscious. The shared perspective was familiar—yet…unidentified just yet.

From her perspective, as she viewed it, the sight was very similar to a previous dream she'd already had—prior to the attack. At the time she'd thought it was connected with that attack—but now—was it really? Was it of something still yet to come?

The addition of a perspective skewed the original theory—giving it plausible grounds that it was still meant to come—or at least…one other perspective might also see it happening—

_Possibly as an illusion—it could be possible it's a product of another's imagination—_

—_I will lose everything, in the fire—the aftermath—_

The two perspectives meshed into one distorted view of the situation. The scene shifted like a camera purposefully shaken up a bit—in focus, shaky and _a little out of focus—_

The scent of smoldering embers filled her senses unlike anything she'd ever envisioned; it all felt so real—_too real—_

The fire was really smoldering, had been _really burning._ Even as she couldn't seem to see it clearly, she could feel the intense warmth emanating from the still heated embers against her skin.

_It's—too warm,_ she told herself. _Way too warm, I might start to burn up like everything else already has—_

The heat intensified, so much so that it was starting to leave a physical mark—burn marks—the bite of flames lapping at the skin.

The sensation became painful. Scorching flames against sensitive flesh—

_Too hot, too hot— _

Her piercing scream could be heard through all stretches of the tower; from the highest to the lowest levels. She immediately woke Robin with the intensity of the sound.

It took Raven several long drawn moments to realize it was all but a dream; the fire wasn't real, the flames weren't eating away at her flesh—

"Rae—what's wrong?" She realized Robin was watching her with deep concern, that she'd woken him up when she'd screamed. "You were screaming like bloody murder. I woke up immediately as a result."

"I was having a dream where I actually _felt _like I was burning alive while everything around me was caught up in flames," Raven told him, still sounding unsettled as she spoke. "It felt so _real,_ so _painful—_I ended up screaming as a result. I'm—still feeling the effects of it a bit."

"That's very odd sounding for just a normal nightmare," Robin noted. "I never feel things in a physical sense during my dreams."

"I don't think it's a normal dream," Raven stated. "Part of it—I've had before during a previous dream. This time—it was a little different, expanded on—and even had an extra perspective added onto it."

"Will telling me about it make it easier for you to get back to sleep?" Robin asked her. The unsettling _haunting_ sense of the dream still hung over her, like it just didn't want to let go. She wasn't sure if it would help or not, but—

"Maybe it might," Raven concluded her thoughts aloud. "It was a city burning—starting with bright flames and cycling down to burning remnants. The other perspective of mine—it sadly spoke of watching their world, and all that the person cherished, going up in flames…and end up lost in the aftermath. My conscious then meshed with the other one, my vision afterwords becoming pretty unclear. That's when I started having the other sensations come in; I could smell whatever was burning, and I could feel the heat the flames were giving off. Little by little, the heat intensified—so much so that I could feel my own skin burning—the actual pain I felt seemed _very real._"

"Do you still _feel_ like you're burning?" Robin asked her. She shrugged, then shook her head

"Up until just a few moments ago—I did," Raven told him. "To a lesser degree than in my dream, but still—I felt it."

He put his wrist up against her temple to test a theory, puzzled.

"You don't feel overly warm," Robin checked other places on her face to test the theory, lastly checking her neck—finding concern as he kept it there. "Right here—it feels drastically warmer, almost as if you'd been burned here." He lifted his hand away from her skin, looking at it closely. "But there's no indication that you've ever even _been burned."_

"I probably had a vision that turned out to be a bit too real," Raven said. "I—it left me unsettled, but—I should be able to deal with it. What time is it anyways?" The horizon outside his window still appeared to be dark. He looked around for a clock.

"It's two in the morning," Robin replied. "It's too early to get up." There was a knocking at the door that almost sent them jumping six feet upward.

"Why…would the _shadow men _bother to knock?" Raven asked Robin in a whisper. He shrugged.

"Who's there?" Robin demanded. To both their shock—they got a reply.

"It's Jinx." Both recognized the girl with the ability to hex's voice coming from the other side of the door. Both let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here at this hour?" Robin asked her questioningly.

"I was camped out downstairs," Jinx replied. "I thought I should stick around in case you need me. Can you _please open the door_—or am I to expect that I'll have to keep up this conversation through a closed door?"

"It's Jinx," Raven murmured to Robin in reassurance. "I can sense it's her—I checked into it after she spoke."

"I'll be right there," Robin replied to Jinx. He got up off the bed and made his way over to the door. When it was open, they both noticed it was indeed Jinx there.

"What made you come up here?" Raven inquired as Jinx stepped in the doorway. Jinx looked directly towards Raven, uncharacteristically serious.

"I heard you scream—and I came to see what was up," Jinx explained. "I thought maybe those shadow creatures were out to get you, and I guess I wanted to make sure that wasn't it."

"I thought you left with Kid Flash when Bumblebee and her team headed out for the night," Robin said. "How long were you camped out downstairs exactly?"

"We only left to get a bite to eat," Jinx stated. "We came back afterward. Apparently the two of you decided to call it a night early. We've been trying to keep it quiet since then."

"So—Kid Flash is also here?" Raven asked her. Jinx nodded.

"He's downstairs." Jinx entered through the doorway, looking back towards where she previously came in. "I think he'll be up momentarily. The only thing that really slows him down here is that elevator of yours."

"Was there a particular reason why you two stuck around—or did just not have anywhere better to go for the time being?" Raven asked her as Jinx sat cross-legged on the carpeted floor. Jinx lifted a bit of that uncharacteristic seriousness to let a slight smile sneak through.

"Yeah, actually—there is a reason why we stayed," Jinx responded. "Besides the fact that we've both looked over that _shadows book_ together from cover to cover—we kind of thought we might also be useful when you make that jump from this reality over to the shadow realm. He can investigate the place in a much faster time frame then I'm sure either of you could when it comes to finding those teammates of yours, and if anything gets in our way, I could help—by giving them a good dose of bad luck." She grinned as she said that. "Plus—I'm sure Slade and his _companions_ are only expecting the two of you to show to make the deal—or whatever. They won't be expecting a couple add-ons."

Raven looked at Robin questioningly. He looked at her, just nodding slightly.

"You make some valid points, Jinx," Robin said to her. He again looked to Raven as if seeking her advice through visual contact. He then again turned his attention back to Jinx. "Maybe…it would be good to have backup. The extra firepower against those shades would probably be more help than hurt."

"So…what _did_ she scream for anyways?" Jinx curiously inquired, looking over at Raven.

"It was…just—a bad dream," Raven said. Jinx shrugged lightly.

"Whatever you want to call it." Jinx leaned back with her two arms propping her up. "Is it okay if for the time being—we camp up here with you until morning? It'd be easier to stick together—and then we wouldn't need to regroup later." Jinx straightened herself again. "Plus—those shadow beings were pretty thick out there when I was coming up. If I didn't have these powers or was actually_ afraid_ of those things—they could've done a lot of damage on me mentally—possibly physically."

"What about Kid Flash?" Raven asked her. Jinx actually laughed.

"You think those things can even _touch_ him?" Jinx replied, calming her laughter. "He moves too fast for them to even see him."

To illustrate that point, Kid Flash appeared in the doorway rather abruptly. Jinx, being accustomed to him making speedy entries by now, recognized his appearance before the other two even had the chance to acknowledge him there. She looked towards the doorway the instant he showed up there.

"No wonder Bumblebee's team claimed this floor was haunted," Kid Flash said as he lumbered in at a very normal pace—one he wasn't accustomed to using normally. "The shadows up here are thick. I swear I saw glowing eyes in them a few times while I was making my way up here." He carried with him a satchel that looked more like he was bringing a load of groceries with him than what one might expect in a personal bag.

"It's a real possibility," Robin noted. "We've seen the _shadow people_ while they're fully formed—and in that form they had growing red eyes."

"Did you ask about the scream and us joining them in their trip?" Kid Flash asked Jinx. She nodded. "And—?"

"She had some kind of nasty nightmare—and they've okayed our request," Jinx told him. "Last thing I need to ask," she turned her attention back towards Robin and Raven. "Would it be a problem if we both hung out here—or are you going to send us off to where we originally were downstairs?"

The two teammates exchanged looks, not quite sure how to answer Jinx's request. Hesitantly, Robin was the one who bothered to reply.

"For the time being—you might as well stay put here," Robin conceded. "It's already after two in the morning—and it'll just be for this one night anyways."

"We won't make you give up your sleeping spots," Kid Flash assured them. "I'll gladly take a corner to rest at, and Jinx I'm sure isn't picky."

"It's for one night," Jinx said, shrugging. "And for a few hours at that."

Kid Flash made himself comfy in an empty corner off to the side. Jinx looked around for a plot of floor suitable to her, resigning to a spot right near where Kid Flash had planted himself. He yawned hugely, and then was instantly out. Jinx apparently wasn't quite as tired.

Not feeling the need to continue watching them, Raven placed herself against the pillows yet again, sheets drawn up around her. She heard a yawn escape from someone—who, she wasn't sure. All she could be sure of was that Robin stretched a bit before he too hit the pillows to attempt to get some sleep.

She watched him until her eyelids grew heavy, and everything began to fade into darkness.

* * *

(A chapter with a mixed bag. The story will develop, don't you worry ;) I'd love to see some reviews, hear some opinions on how this is going. I'm might prolong the pause between this and the next chapter post to inquire about those. Would that kind of pressure produce that kind of result? I've seen it played in other fics I've checked out. :P Seriously though-I'm hoping you're all enjoying this as it unfolds. I tend to over work myself checking these drafts over before I post them. I'm quite the grammar freak, lol. Anyways, have a good read, and happy belated Halloween!)

~Mara


	15. Shadowed Fringe

**Wow—it's been a while since I last posted to this story. D= Yeah—this update, I'd say, is long overdue. I've been busy with life and a couple Legend of Korra fics, heh. **

**To all whom have been waiting for this update, enjoy. =D **

* * *

Chapter 15: Shadowed Fringe

The morning came at them with such an abruptness that it seemed as though the hours had been swallowed up quickly by the nighttime itself to make way for the day. The sun presented itself in the mostly eye-opening and blinding manner it could possibly present, waking them in a rather irritable fashion.

Raven reclined to notice Jinx stirring beside Kid Flash in the corner she remembered them planting themselves in. Jinx had somehow wound up in Kid Flash's arms over the stretch of the evening, and Raven couldn't help but respond to the sight with an eyebrow raised.

Robin it appeared was already up and in motion—the spread he'd used as his makeshift bedding already neatly folded and set aside, out of the way.

"Did you sleep?" Raven asked him, watching Jinx and Kid Flash stir and awaken out of the corner of her eye.

"I got some," Robin told her. "I was getting a little restless—and the sun was getting too intense to continue lying around for too much longer."

"It is strangely bright in here—" Raven noted offhandedly.

"You can say that again." Apparently Jinx was fully awake. She got up off the floor and away from Kid Flash, oddly displaying a desire to put a little distance between her and Kid Flash. "Does the sun always shine in this intensely?" She shielded her eyes with one arm—a ray of sunlight shone in the window, right into her eyes.

"Not usually," Robin stated. "But then—I'm usually up and about before this hour to really take note of it."

"I like that's it's brighter," Kid Flash spoke up. "After all the doom and gloom this place has had delivered to it recently—it's a nice change of pace."

While the other three kept up some kind of conversation about the bright sunlight and it's effects on the shadows, Raven found herself getting up and moving about. Without them being aware of it, she grabbed for her cloak, put her shoes on, and left the room.

XoXoX

She wasn't followed, nor did she pick up any indication that she would be anytime soon. Raven left them behind to head towards her room—one of the biggest hotspots for shadow activity. The room had always been claimed to be particularly gloomy—but she was expecting it to be more so than usual when she arrived at it.

She was surprised when she found it brighter than it normally would be. Like Robin's room, it was filled with sunlight. It touched upon spots it normally wouldn't reach, making the shadows retreat further back than the norm.

_What is creating this extra light all of a sudden—_

Whatever was creating the brighter illumination of the sunlight— it emanated a sense of warmth and peace over her as she stood there. It almost seemed to wash away all her struggles, lighten the load of all the stress that had been weighing her down. She found it refreshing—enlightening.

"Whatever's pushing the shadows back—thanks." Raven could sense some kind of welcoming reply—made with out a suggestion of words. It was a _feeling _that seemed to go beyond words.

She began sensing for a weakness in the fabric between the two realms—trying to find a place she could access it from where she was. The sense of peace had given her extra clarity—she found herself surprisingly able to sense farther than she was expecting to.

Her room, she found was not nearly as useful for her as she thought. As dreary as her room tended to be most of the time—there wasn't a place anywhere in the space that held a weak enough barrier for her to break through it. Disappointed, she tried to think of other alternatives.

She recalled Jinx mentioning that the whole floor that their personal quarters all happened to be had appeared to be haunted in general. She would have to check the whole floor, she thought, but it occurred to her that if her room wasn't one of those _hot spots_, there was a possibility a lot of other _so called hot spots _weren't either—

The best possible place she could think to look on the whole floor had to be Starfire's room. That had been where Starfire had gone missing—where Raven herself had been knocked into unconsciousness. Besides the usual damage that was spread throughout the tower—that room had seen the most concentrated amount of activity.

"I think that dried up pool of my own blood is still up there—" She stopped, realizing something. _My blood—_

She needed to verify a theory. She swiftly moved from her room and down the hall towards Starfire's.

_I need to know it it's possible—_

Raven stepped into the undisturbed space—outside of the newly installed window and replaced wiring. The rest of the room had remained untouched—bloodstain and all.

She could sense in the air a musty darkness that she hadn't sensed in the other rooms she'd been in. That warm, welcoming burst of light was completely absent in Starfire's room. The room seemed almost devoid of soul, happiness. Darkness lingering hung over the room—only broken to the slightest degree by the light that managed to filter inward.

_I can sense the menacing presence of this room,_ she thought to herself. She gazed downward where Robin had told her she'd fallen unconscious, at the long dried bloodstain that was very apparent there. She got the sense that was the center of the dark activity.

"Mistress of darkness," she scoffed in heavy derision. "I'm not going to allow them to use me—blood or anything else." She could sense a strong weakness in the barrier between the two realms in this room. She felt like she almost could reach out and cross over to the realm of shadows right then and there. She didn't dare to though; she wasn't ready just yet.

The evil emanating from the darkness in the room made Raven shudder. Its presence was so strong she couldn't stand to be present there for much longer. In order for her to tolerate her surroundings again—she couldn't help but leave the premises.

XoXoX

Robin noticed that Raven had departed while he was unaware of it, and he suddenly became concerned.

"Did either of you see where Raven went off to?" Robin asked Jinx and Kid Flash. Both showed that they were clueless with a shrug.

"Kinda couldn't see her leave with the sunlight in my eyes," Jinx claimed. "That girl's tough; she should be fine."

"Not always," Robin muttered. In a normal tone he said, "If either of you need to get anything done—eat breakfast, stretch, or get out of the tower for a bit—this would probably be the time to do that. I'm sure as soon as Raven is able to find a good access point to the shadow realm—we'll be heading there."

"He needs to refuel—and I just need to get out for a bit," Jinx said. "Won't be gone long—we'll hopefully be back before that girl shows up with the answer we're looking for." Kid Flash was already gone before Jinx had finished speaking. Jinx of course expected that—and headed for the door—the same way he had already departed.

Robin decided that was the time to search for Raven. He reached the hallway, trying to figure out which direction to go—looking from left to right.

_She'd probably head towards her room_, he surmised to himself. He chose to head that direction. When he got there, it was silent. There was that same sense of peace lingering in the air, as there had been back in his room.

Robin opened the door to her room, expecting she'd be there. Instead, her room stood empty of a soul; she wasn't there, but her room seemed to carry an air to it that suggested she had been.

He was just about to depart when his communicator went off. Startled, he expected it to be Raven.

"I hope she isn't in trouble." When he went to answer it though—it wasn't Raven.

XoXoX

Beast Boy and Cyborg walked through the endless darkness, finally approaching a figure other then themselves in this reality devoid of anything but darkness.

As they approached her, they noticed she was caught in a fit of mournful sobbing. As Cyborg had stated to Beast Boy—it appeared the darkness had gotten to the girl. It was so depressing for them both to see her cry—

"Star," Beast Boy spoke mournfully. "Hey—it's me! Smile! It's gonna be okay, we're gonna get out of here!" She continued to sob. "C'mon—stop crying! It's BB—I'm here to cheer you up until the other two come to get us out of here."

"Beast—Boy?" Starfire finally stopped her sobbing and looked up. Her face was raw and drenched. Her eyes were filled with undeniable misery. She looked at him like she didn't quite believe he was really there. As if to confirm that he wasn't a delusion— she rushed up and clung to him in an agonized embrace. She could feel that he was really there—substantial, and she began to sob yet again.

"Star, _please _don't cry—I'm here to cheer you up—not depress you even more," Beast Boy pleaded with her. "_Please_—I made contact with the other two for real; they know we're here, and they're gonna come get us. They should be here very shortly. Star—we're gonna get outta here. I promise."

"Beast Boy—I do not know what I can believe anymore," Starfire told him in a mournful choked up voice. "After all of the nightmares this darkness has made me view—I find it hard to believe in hope anymore. It tells me of the most hateful sorrows I fear hearing; It has shown me the dreads of which I never desire to witness, and it covers this in a layer of illusion to further separate my ability to decipher fact from fiction." She sobbed some more. ""It has debilitated me to the point of which I no longer can summon my powers. I have tried, but—I keep failing."

"Even more reason why we have to get out of here—fast," Cyborg said. "I bet once ya see the light of day and the real world again—you'll be able to get back to being yourself. We all will."

"That is a sweet sentiment—especially when it is being made to a teammate." The shadows backed away from another approaching presence. The three were bewildered to realize Slade had made himself present. "But unfortunately—like she already has come to believe—that's only an illusion."

Beast Boy had stepped away from Starfire and towards Slade to confront him, fury building up within him.

"What have you been poisoning Star's mind with—and _how_ can you even try to make us believe that our teammates coming here is nothing but an illusion?" Beast Boy was about to get in the villain's face, but Cyborg managed to restrain him. "I talked to them—Robin and Raven—face to face, and I'm very certain that _wasn't_ an illusion. That was them, and they will come—I'm _sure of it_."

"Everything in this realm is an illusion—it is made up of your darkest fears, that side of your conscience you shouldn't listen to—but sometimes do. It hosts the darkest entities imaginable—it's all an illusion—that just happens to be very real." Slade turned his attention away from Beast Boy, moving away from him as well. He made himself conveniently close to where Starfire was. "How real it tends to be depends on how much you let it get to you. How much you don't let yourself continue to deny." Standing over her, he looked up at the other two teammates of hers, adding, "And for the record—I'm not poisoning her mind; she's seeing and hearing everything on her own free will. She chose not to ignore it—I didn't force it on her."

"Star—" Beast Boy let out mournfully, but to their utter astonishment, and both he and Cyborg's horror, Slade took Starfire by the shoulder—and she disappeared completely into the shadows. The last thing they saw of her before she slipped into the blankness of the void with their enemy was her green eyes—filled with mortification beyond any measure they could imagine.

"Star!" Beast Boy started chasing where she'd faded into the shadows. Cyborg had to restrain him.

"If you going running aimlessly into that void—I might not ever see you again," Cyborg warned him. Beast Boy looked back at him, his eyes panicky. "We'll get her back man—don't let what he was telling us all get to you too."

Beast Boy calmed down, his eyes only showing a hint of panic. He understood what his friend was saying—he _knew _Cyborg was the one able to think rationallyin the world they were stuck in.

"Pays to have a half mechanical brain in a place like this," Beast Boy mused. Cyborg nodded in agreement—without a hint of humor. "So—what should we do about this in the meantime then?"

"How 'bout calling up the other two again?" Cyborg suggested. "I think I need to see that you managed to get though to them for myself. All this hubbub Slade was going on about has got me wondering if you really _did_ chat with them."

"I'll prove it to you by doing just that." Beast Boy reached for his communicator—and activated it.


	16. Twilight

**HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! 2013 FTW (hopefully it won't be cursed).**

**Here's the next chapter =D**

* * *

Chapter 16: Twilight

Raven heard a voice echoing off the walls in the hallway as she made her way away from Starfire's room. Wondering whom it was and where it was coming from—she headed in the direction from which it seemed to be coming.

It grew louder the closer to her room she got. When she turned the bend in the hallway that led right up to her bedroom's entrance, she spotted Robin there, with his back turned to her.

"That complicates things," Robin seemed to be saying to himself. "It looks like our timing will be even more crucial then before."

"Robin—who are you talking to?" Raven asked as she approached. She had taken him by surprise; he almost jumped in response to acknowledging her presence.

"Rae—you took me off guard," Robin said as he turned to notice her there. "Cy and Beast Boy got in contact with me."

"Cyborg—so, is something up?" Raven asked him, peering over at his communicator more closely as if to verify what he was saying.

"Slade's taken Star off—and they don't get a good feeling from it," Robin stated, with a somber note. "Where have you been?"

"Out looking for access points," Raven replied. "I found one." She looked around, as if for someone. "Where did those two, Jinx and Kid Flash, go off to?"

"For a brief break outside the tower—which they should be back from shortly," Robin replied. "Where did you find the access point?"

"Starfire's room." Raven gazed back at him with a solemn expression; silence set in for a drawn out period.

"Hey—I think y'all should know something about this place if you'll be bringing a few extras along for the ride—it'll help 'em keep their sanity," Cyborg broke the silence from the other end of the communicator in Robin's grasp. "It might help ya keep yours as well."

"Yeah—you'll hear voices telling you things to bring you down, as well as see illusions that are pretty real that you _really don't want_ to see," Beast Boy added. "That's what's getting to Star—she let both things get to her." His expression became very melancholic. "I've never seen her that depressed, and Slade's taking full advantage of that."

"Rae—can you retrieve Jinx and Kid Flash so we can get going?" Robin asked her. She nodded firmly. "I'll keep connected with Cy and BB while you're gone."

"Robin—of course," Raven replied. "Just…please—for my sake and yours—stay in areas where the light seems brighter until I get back here. Try—to avoid going anywhere where there's a lot of shadow cover." She looked a little unexpectedly worried about him—he noticed. He nodded in agreement.

"I'll take this conversation to my room," Robin told her. "When you discover the whereabouts of those two…just meet me up there."

Raven nodded before she turned and left. He too began his own trek—back to where he'd started.

XoXoX

Raven pondered over the predicament Starfire had been put into; she couldn't help but feel concerned for that teammate in particular.

"I'm really going to have to brace myself for this journey," she murmured as she walked down the hall. "I just hope that Star's mentality will be salvageable when we get her away from there." She concentrated her full attention inwardly—trying to sense out the location of Jinx or Kid Flash.

Kid Flash she found was too fast to keep track of. She concentrated all of her search solely on Jinx. When she got a lock on Jinx's location, she took herself to her—exiting her soul self state near to where Jinx happened to be. She took Jinx quite by surprise with her abrupt appearance.

"Okay—I wasn't expecting you to show up out of nowhere quite like that," Jinx remarked as she regained her senses yet again. "Why'd you do that?" She rested her hands on her hips irritably.

"I had to find you in a hurry," Raven replied, not in the mood to show an attitude. "Some complications cropped up—and we've got to set things into motion sooner than we were expecting to."

"What's _cropped up?_" Jinx exclaimed questioningly.

"One of my teammates on the other side…in the shadow realm—is in urgent need of rescue," Raven replied. "Slade has taken the opportunity to manipulate her—and we _need_ to get her out of there before the damage is permanent."

"I see." Jinx wasn't quite so irritable. Her expression serious, she added, "I'll get in contact with Kid Flash—and get him to head back to the tower ASAP."

"I appreciate that." Raven looked around at the busy streets—built-up traffic at the stoplight, the pedestrian congested walkway across from them. "Are you going to try to head back to the tower in all of this?"

"You have a better idea?" Jinx questioned. Raven nodded a confirmative yes.

"I can teleport," Raven reminded her. "I didn't get here by just thinking about it."

"If you say so." Jinx looked around at the traffic pileup and the congestion of pedestrians herself. "I might as well go with you—because it looks like I'll have to deal with being delayed by all this congestion if I don't."

Raven nodded in agreement. Traffic only looked like it was going to get thicker—she could tell.

XoXoX

Robin was still connected with Cyborg and Beast Boy on his communicator. He heard a noise coming from downstairs; thinking it was Raven—he went to check and see.

When he entered the common room, with Cyborg still talking with him from the other end, Robin was startled to find Bumblebee's team had showed up early.

"Bee—I wasn't expecting you guys to be here," Robin stated as the team acknowledged his entrance.

"We thought we'd get started a bit early on the touchups—that when you get 'em back here, the place will be ready for your team once again," Bumblebee replied. "We might as well utilize our time in town while we're here."

"Bee's there?" Cyborg exclaimed from the other end of the communicator. "And she's been doing maintenance in the tower—including the technological components_ I_ installed _myself?_"

"Is that Sparky I hear on the other end of the line?" Bumblebee spoke up. She buzzed on over to Robin, gazing directly at the communicator's screen. Seeing that she'd been correct—she smiled satisfactorily."I thought that was you. And yes—_I_ fixed it all up with my team—and I think we did _a fine job."_

"Cy—I can't argue with what she's stated, and I don't think you should bother to either," Robin stated to him seriously. He turned his attention from his communicator to Bumblebee. "Would any of those from your team be willing to lend a hand to me and my team in the shadow realm when we head there—or are you all mostly set on just doing the finishing touchups?"

"I think it depends," Bumblebee replied, smiling slyly as she looked over at her team. "On if any of 'em happen to be too afraid of the dark or not. Me—I wouldn't mind going so I could kick some villain's ass and also save Sparky from danger yet again."

"I'm staying here where it's light," Aqualad spoke up.

"I'm not going to wimp out," Speedy stated, looking at the speedy twins in particular—who looked from one another nervously and anxiously chattered away to each other in Spanish. "I'll go."

"Has Raven gotten back yet?" Beast Boy asked from the other end. His voice sounded slightly impatient.

"She just left," Robin told him. "Which reminds me—I told her to meet me up in my room when she gets in with the other two. She'll most likely show up using her powers, so we probably won't even see her enter when she gets back."

"You guys head up there, we'll be down here finishing off what's left," Aqualad said. "Tell Raven I say hi—and I wish you luck in getting your whole team back."

Just as Robin was to give the command to head up, there was a thudding sound that came from above unexpectedly. Startled—they all exchanged looks with one another—and then went to investigate it.


	17. Bridges

_**Another installment. Enjoy :)**_

* * *

Chapter 17: Bridges

The two girls emerged from Raven's soul self on the floor of the team's private quarters—just outside the entry to Starfire's room. Jinx was slightly unsettled by the process—which it took her a few moments to adjust.

"I told Robin I'd meet him up in his room," Raven told her as she noticed Jinx was readjusting.

"I need to get in touch with Kid Flash first," Jinx stated. "Let me get that done with before we go meet up with your glorious team leader."

"Go ahead," Raven replied. Jinx already had her issued communicator out and open—trying to make a connection with her speedy friend. Raven stood there and watched her, waiting patiently.

"Hey—we need you back at Titans Tower pronto," Jinx spoke up, obviously succeeding in getting a connection. "Seems things have suddenly become urgent, and—we need to get moving faster then we expected." There was a pause as she listened to a response Raven didn't catch. "One of their teammates is being run through the ringer by Slade—at least that's what I'm picking it up as being. They heard back from the other two stranded teammates about I guess. How long will it take you to get back here?" Another pause. "Just like I figured." Jinx closed the communicator with a satisfied grin.

"So?" Raven said. Jinx more markedly grinned.

"Shouldn't be more than a few moments," Jinx assured her. "Good thing about dealing with a guy who moves faster than you can see—he's always there when you need him, at the time you exactly need him."

"We should probably go meet up with Robin," Raven told her. Jinx nodded.

"It's your home—you lead the way," Jinx replied. Raven didn't add anything, just nodding and started walking.

They were just reaching the hall that went past Beast Boy's dwelling when the two of them noticed the shadows were falling in more thickly than they had been. Raven took notice—eyes darting around suspiciously. She slowed her pace—and Jinx was aware of that fact.

"Hey—something up?" Jinx questioned. "Why are you—" Raven turned to her, trying to shush her.

"It's suddenly darker in here." Raven spoke in a harsh whisper, to which she received a quizzical look in response from Jinx. "It shouldn't_ be_ this _dark_ in this hallway." Jinx got the hint. She too started eyeing around the shadowed hall—wondering in suspicion if something was up—

Jinx noticed Raven grimace suddenly, causing her to look at her startlingly. Abruptly the shadows seemed to respond by shifting unusually. Raven made a few painful utterances before she was sent into the wall—catching Jinx clearly off guard.

"Hey!" Jinx exclaimed. She just avoided being struck by something of substance in the shadows, moving to the side and just managing to keep her balance. When she gained control of her senses, she went over to where Raven had crumpled. "Hey—you okay? What just happened?" She had her hands on Raven's shoulder, trying to shake her to see if she was still alert.

Raven shook her head a bit, trying to clear it up. She looked up to Jinx then.

"Yeah—I think so." Raven slowly got up to her feet. "That's why I was trying to be more cautious just now—that's what those shadow beings are capable of doing when a place is shaded in darkness more particularly."

"It looked like you were taking a mental hit from it —because you grimaced before you suddenly got struck down," Jinx noted. As if it served as some form of reminder, it brought Raven to recalling what Beast Boy had been stating about Starfire earlier.

_That's what's getting to Star—she let both things get to her; I've never seen her that depressed—_Beast Boy_'_s sorrow tinged words had somehow left an imprint on her mind.

_Something about that is getting to me—_

The flashes she'd just had a moment before—it reminded her of something—

"Were those things taking a mental hit at you or what?" Jinx questioned. Raven looked over at her, troubled.

"Yes, they did," Raven replied. "Something about it…was painful. I'm not quite sure—"

_Starfire—depressing voices conjuring up miserable ideas—horrifying illusions that seemed so real—what was it about it that was getting to her—_

**_I see a world caught up in ignited embers glowing bright—remnants of burning remains of what I once cherished—it is…truly tragic—I will lose everything, in the fire—the aftermath—_**

"That was—Starfire's consciousness I was seeing through in that other perspective," Raven noted aloud. "Those voices…they're _really getting_ to her—"

Jinx looked at her incredulously, but Raven wasn't really aware of her at the moment. She was too deep in thought to even be.

_The scent of smoldering embers filled her senses unlike anything she'd ever envisioned; it all felt so real—too real—_Raven recalled the dream she'd had—awoken screaming from.

_If that was just a taste of what those illusions can do to someone witnessing them, then a person experiencing them first hand would be hit much harder—_she shuddered at the thought of had been real _pain_ in that dream—and Raven had only been picking up traces of it from Starfire's conscious. She could only wonder to what degree it affected Starfire herself. As the realization of it set in, her eyes widened.

_That kind of pain could destroy her—or at least almost—_

"Okay—what are you contemplating over in your head?" Jinx demanded, bringing Raven back to being aware of her there.

"That bad dream I had that you guys had to investigate last night," Raven said. "It wasn't really_ just_ a bad dream—it was mostly some kind of vision that turned into something physically painful—enough to have me wake up screaming." Jinx's expression was clearly baffled. "There's something I need to warn you and Kid Flash about before we make our departure to the shadow realm—those shadows are capable of conjuring up misery and sorrow in the form of voices and illusions if you allow yourself to give into them. Beast Boy warned about that when he got in contact with us earlier—my friend Starfire apparently has fallen victim to their spell—and I think I just realized that I witnessed a bit of what she's been put through with them in that dream I had." The shadows seemed to loom in near again to make a strike, but Raven raised her fist to halt any actions they were going to make. She motioned with her arm to push them off to the side, and—surprisingly—they complied without any hesitation.

"So—you're saying the shadows in that realm can make you see miserable delusions or something, if we let them get to us anyways?" Jinx exclaimed. Raven nodded gravely.

"It's already affected my friend—and I've seen it," Raven replied. "Let's meet up with Robin—so we can get moving as soon as we possibly can."

Jinx nodded without another word. They began moving along again, with Jinx wondering if she was going to regret her decision to go along with them in the end.

XoXoX

Robin found Raven and Jinx camped out in his room. He noticed how Raven had been cautiously watching the door before she'd realized it was him that was entering; it was almost like she'd been expecting something else. Also, Jinx seemed unusually jumpy.

"Did something happen to you two? You both look like you had some sort of experience with something that's made you more cautious," Robin asked the two.

"We were ambushed by those _shadow people_ in the hall a little while ago," Raven replied. "And—I think I got a sense of what's going on with Starfire in that realm…the torture it's putting her through. I also realized—the dream I had last night…it was her that was the other perspective in it. I think what I dreamt, she's been witnessing in some way. I get what Beast Boy was saying about those voices really affecting somebody mentally; the results can be painful."

"Was that you guys that made the thudding noise just a little while ago up here?" Robin asked.

"Probably—one of those _things_ did send me clear into the wall," Raven replied. It was that moment that she became aware of their added guests. "Um…is there a reason they're tagging along behind you?" She focused solely on Robin then for the answer. Jinx was apparently just noticing their presences as well—Bumblebee, Speedy, and Kid Flash.

"Bee and Speedy volunteered to help us out," Robin replied. "They just showed up; believe me, Rae—I wasn't expecting them either."

"You two are either brave—or stupid," Jinx remarked. "From what I've been hearing and witnessing since I volunteered for this trip—it's gonna be one hell of a venture to the dark side."

"Not much frightens me," Bumblebee stated. "I _won't_ be letting any shadow beings get to me." While she and the other three that comprised loosely of her _team_ gathered in one spot, Raven had wandered off to the other side of the room, to the corner opposite from them. Robin took notice, and joined her while the other four—caught in their own chitchat—seemed oblivious to her separation from them.

"Rae—is something on your mind?" Robin asked her. She looked to him solely, expression somewhat troubled.

"It's something about that dream I had last night—that painful _vision_ I awoke screaming from," Raven told him in a lower tone, as if in order to keep the conversation just between the two of them. "I'm even more concerned about Starfire's wellbeing…because I think she's the one whose witnessing those things from that _dream_ I had firsthand. I think she's the one I'm picking them up from—and if what I got a sense of was just a taste of what she's experiencing—" She paused for moment, looking at him soberly. "I can only think that—the longer we take to get the three of them out of there—the more likely the damage she suffers from this might end up being permanent."

"Are you _that certain_ it could be _that damaging?"_ Robin questioned. She nodded solemnly. In response he hung his head. "I hope for her sake—all our sakes—it doesn't come to that." He looked back up at her, in the eye. "It's all too ironic that the best access point just happens to be in Star's room."

"Yes—it is," Raven responded in a low voice. "If we're going to get going—I think we should start heading towards that direction."

"Agreed," Robin responded solely to her. In a louder tone to grab the attention of the four, he spoke up. "This is the last time to back down—we need to get moving, so—if you're going for sure, follow us. If anyone's changed their mind—it'll be safe in the common room."

Acting as the leader like always, Robin headed towards the doorway with a sense of authority. Raven was right beside him, a confirmed member of the group departing. The two expected some hesitance from the other four. To their astonishment not one seemed to falter in following suit.

"You think I'd actually chicken out from this gig?" Bumblebee questioned with an incredulous tone. "Not a chance in hell."

"I pretty much confirmed I was in this for the long haul when I came with you—I'm not gonna back out now," Speedy claimed.

"You expect a little thing like freaky shadows and nightmares would get to me enough to take me out of this gig?" Jinx remarked, trying to sound more confident than she came off being. "Puh-lease. I don't get rattled _that easily_."

"I go where Jinx goes," Kid Flash stated simply.

Robin looked at the four with a satisfied smile.

"I appreciate this," Robin said, and then turned to head down the hallway. "It's this way." He continued leading them to Starfire's room—and they followed in silence.

XoXoX

Raven got a strong sense of darkness from her teammate's abode as they entered the premises. It hung in the air as heavy as smoke—an invisible darkness only tangible to her honed set of senses the others didn't possess. She strained harder for each breath she took in than she normally should have.

"This room is definitely drearier than most of the rest of the tower," Speedy noted. Bumblebee was looking around, aware of a heavier sense of dread hanging in the room than the hallway they'd just come in from. It however showed no impact on her outwardly.

"What do you have to do to create this entryway to the dark side anyways?" Bumblebee asked Raven.

"Concentrate on the veil that separates this world from that one—and push it aside, so to speak," Raven replied. "It's mostly going to be a mental process to accomplish what I need to."

"We'll stand aside while you work your magic—or whatever you want to call it," Jinx stated. As the other three grouped up beside her, Robin stood right beside Raven.

"Are you ready to make this move?" Robin asked her, with unexpected concern carrying in his voice. She looked at him seriously and confirmed with a nod.

"More than ready," Raven assured him. In a lower tone, she added, "Don't worry."

He nodded in response, not saying another word. She turned her attention away from him towards what she was setting out to do. She called up what she could recall from the instructions in that book had stated—thinking it over step by step.

_Sense the veil, the dark realm beyond that—and force that barrier aside that separates the two from one another, and then—teleport through it._ She sensed the barrier and the dark realm just as she recalled the instructions telling her to; she mentally began to push through that barrier with all the will she could muster. She then brought up her fists, motioning with them the parting of the barrier as she brought them further apart from one another. In the middle of the room—right in front of where she stood—lay a dark void in the space that once existed as just the scenery of Starfire's room.

"The barrier has been pushed aside—so I should be able to guide us in there now," Raven stated. She looked at the group. "We should stick close together—so I don't lose anyone along the way. Hold hands or cluster close together—whatever will work for you all. I just…don't want to lose anyone in the process."

Without any hesitation, they all reached out to one another, grasping the nearest person's hands in their own. All the while Raven put her concentration in the process of transporting them all there via her power of teleportation. In the middle of her concentration she was knocked out of it when another's hand took her own in theirs. Quite surprised, she looked over to discover Robin had been the one responsible for that action.

"Sorry, did I break your concentration?" Robin asked her.

"Kind of," Raven admitted.

"Want me to let go so you can concentrate?" Robin asked her. She shook her head.

"No, it won't be necessary," Raven assured him. She closed her eyes. Before she began her concentration again, she thought to herself—_it just might actually help._ She took a heavy breath in, and then quickly released it.

And then—things were set into motion for their transfer across the bridge from the realm of light to the realm of darkness.


	18. The Flipside of Light

_**I forgot to make note of this while I've been publishing this up until now, but this story was inspired by an LJ Smith trilogy, The Forbidden Game, which involved Shadow Men and a dark realm parallel to our own where they roamed. This is a different take, of course, but that gave me the inspiration. **_

_**The Forbidden Game trilogy is one of my favorite LJ Smith reads, and is worthy of a read. Dark, twisted, and with a devilishly handsome demon prince luring the protagonists in to his snares each opportunity he can get, its definitely an interesting read :)**_

**_Anyways, enough rambling, enjoy this next chappie._**

* * *

Chapter 18: The Flipside of Light

All around was nothing but sheer darkness. Only the figures of the group Raven had brought with her contrasted against that very darkness—illuminated solely by an undeterminable light source.

_Almost like the essence of their being illuminated them—_

"Anyone else hearing the insanely depressing voices—or is it just me?" Speedy spoke up.

_How did I forget to mention—_"I think I should mention that this place will make every attempt to drag your morale down—be it depressing voices, miserable visions and delusions—amongst other things," Raven stated. "It's had a pretty debilitating effect on my teammate Starfire from what the other two stated—and if any of you let it—it could have the same effect on you as well. The best thing is just ignore all the negative messages you see or hear—block them out to prevent them from affecting you."

"I think I'd rather choose to do just that," Bumblebee remarked, sounding a little bothered.

"Do either of you know where to head in this big black void?" Jinx questioned, looking particularly at Robin and Raven.

"I—don't know," Raven admitted.

"Question—should we all stick together, or would be a good idea to split up?" Kid Flash spoke up. "Splitting up would be fast; we could cover more area if we spanned out, but sticking together might also be better—considering all I've been picking up from what this place is like from what you all have been saying."

"Splitting up would cover more ground, but—in a place where Slade has more of an advantage than we do, and with how those _shadow people_ could be lurking anywhere out there—it'd be wiser to stick close together so that nobody gets lost or done in by the shadows," Robin replied. "Plus—as a group—there's more firepower if we need it."

"Should we try seeing if we can get a connection with Beast Boy of Cyborg using a communicator?" Raven asked him. "Maybe they can tell us where we can locate them, or at least let them know we're here."

"That might be smart," Robin agreed with her. "Rae—are you able to sense things in this place—or is this environment messing that up?"

"It is partially, but—there also isn't much out there for me to sense besides concentrations of darkness—_evil,_" Raven replied. Robin nodded solemnly in acknowledgement, and then reached for his communicator.

"BB, Cy—can you read me?" Robin said after he'd activated the device. At first he only received static. "Hey—are either of you two out there, and can you hear me?" After a few more moments of static, it was broken abruptly by a distinct visual.

"I can read you loud and clear," Beast Boy confirmed from the other end. "Sorry for that delay; I was only getting a bit of static on this end at first. This place is a cesspool when it comes to using technological devices."

"Is Cy still with you?" Robin asked him. Beast Boy nodded with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm right here," Cyborg appeared on the screen right next to Beast Boy. "Where are y'all now—is it just you and Raven?"

"We've crossed on over to the dark realm, and we didn't come alone," Robin informed him. "Jinx, Kid Flash, Speedy, and Bumblebee came along as well to help out."

"Bee's here?" Cyborg exclaimed. Robin nodded to confirm. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised—she's an independent type of individual after all. She just can't help wanting to join in on a good fight."

"Is there any way you can give me some specs on your guys location?" Robin asked them. Both shrugged.

"There's really no way to tell what's up from down," Beast Boy stated. "This place is just one big empty void."

"Well, maybe—just _maybe_—Raven can sense your location out," Robin replied. He turned to Raven, asking, "If you tried concentrating on a specific target—do you think you could sense it in this place at all?"

"I—I don't know," Raven admitted. "The only thing I can say is that I can at least try."

"At least try," Robin told her. "I believe you should be able to—I know you're capable of it."

Raven did just that; trying to block out all the other sensory contaminants that were trying to pollute her thoughts with misery and despair, she sent out her senses to try and detect the presences of the other two teammates yet to be physically accounted for. After a few moments, she picked up a faint signature of some kind of presence. She delved further to identify it; to her relief, as she approached it more closely—she realized it was who she desired to find.

"I've got a lock on their location," Raven confirmed aloud. "They're a bit of a distance from us—but I should be able to lead us to them now."

"Then lead the way," Robin told her. To the two on the other end of the communicator, "Stay put—Rae's got you on her _internal radar._ We should be with you guys shortly."

"We weren't intending on going anywhere," Beast Boy said. "We'll see you all in a few."

"When you say a bit of a distance—exactly _how far_ is that?" Jinx questioned.

"Not far," Raven answered. "Probably a three or four minute walk. I wouldn't think it would be more than that."

"That sounds reasonable," Speedy said. "As they say—ladies first."

Raven searched out for which direction to head directly, and then led the way through the dark void.

XoXoX

Starfire averted her comprehension from the direct world around her; reality had become too much of a pain for her to endure, and the only way she could manage to salvage her sanity was to block it out. While she was focusing herself internally, Slade was hovering nearby, partially watching over his melancholic captive while he was conversing with his shadowy minions.

"_She's arrived," _the dark being with the ghastly blazing red eyes rasped to the one deemed their _shadowy master_. Slade nodded slightly in his acknowledgement of the words the _shadowy being _had relayed to him.

"Good," Slade stated smugly. "For the moment—warn your comrades to only observe their movements—and _nothing more._ I don't want any rushed moves made in bad judgment blowing everything."

"_Understood."_ The creature moved a short distance back into the darkness it seemed enveloped in itself. The eerie red eyes focused on the internally focused captive. "_What should be done with that one?"_ the creature asked, making a clear indication of pointing out Starfire the process.

"Make sure that she continues to be overloaded with depressing visions and delusions," Slade advised. "I want to keep this pet in this state as much as possible—for as long as possible."

Starfire was aware of the conversation—if only from a distance. She shuddered outwardly at the acknowledgement of Slade's orders, feeling the constrained tears being shed she knew she couldn't allow to spill in numbers, lest it lead to it becoming uncontrollable.

_They say that she has come—that Raven has arrived in this abysmal place to restore what I fear is lost, but—I cannot seem to believe it is the truth,_ Starfire found herself thinking mournfully. _This world—it is hard to decipher the difference from real to delusion. How am I to believe they would come—to take me away from this unspeakable hell?_ Her shuddering transitioned to a less violent trembling. _Beast Boy—I wish I could believe that the words you say were true, I really do—_

"What might you be pondering, my dear?" Slade directed his questioning to her. Starfire lost her inward focus as she noticed he was looming over her very closely. "Death, destruction—that you can't tell the difference between what is fact and fiction?" As she shrank back from him, there was a gleeful glint in his eye as he recognized the fear deeply embedded in her soul. "My poor dear—I really wish I could assure you that your savior _really is _here to free you from this hell, but how are you to tell what is truth from fiction when you never could trust the likes of me on a good day?"

"If they were to come—if Raven were really to appear in this dark abysmal place…what do your _shadow minions_ intend from my friends to even begin with?" Starfire asked, her voice quavering as the nightmares lingered in the shades. "What must they acquire from my friend Raven that is so vital that we would become the bargaining chips? Tell me, Slade—if you must put me through this torment—at least honor me the answer to all that is happening."

"The girl, your friend Raven—you see, she's very special, I'm sure you've noticed," Slade told her, mystifying her with his cryptic musings. "You seem confused, so I'll get to the point I'm trying to make—your friend's origins are half ensnared in darkness, the very depths of evil that seem to thrive in this domain. Her origins are very desired here—her abilities could give the shadows just what they've been yearning an eternity for—the chance to break the barriers of the two worlds so that they can be free to go wherever they please."

"Break the—barriers?" Starfire was trying to calculate it all in her fraught filled mind. "As in—overtake the very world in which I inhabit, blanket it in their darkness?"

"I think you've got it," Slade mused, his singular eye lit with humor. "They want to take our reality—and make it their own. They don't wish to be pushed around by the light any longer. It's their turn to have full reign over our universe."

"I know Raven would never agree to such a proposal," Starfire countered. "No matter the cost. It is not in her nature to give into the darkness."

"She won't be given a choice," Slade stated coolly. He towered over her for a moment, and then he was consumed by the shadows. Starfire was left to her own devices in the thick noiseless and scenery-less void of black, the nightmares that constantly bombarded her before returning yet again to give her the same level of torment.


	19. Friendly Fire

_**Three in a row. Yeah...I had this story finished a while ago, I've just delayed posting for one reason or another. Well, this chapter's a little longer than the last few, and more intense. Hope y'all like :D**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

* * *

Chapter 19: _Friendly Fire_

The group finally became one gathering instead of two separate pieces. As Beast Boy spotted Robin, Raven, and company in the near distance, he closed his communicator and quickly joined up with them—Cyborg following closely after him.

"Long time, no see," Beast Boy said as he came to a halt, smiling slightly. "It seems like an eternity since I last saw you guys—how long has it been anyways? You can easily lose track of time in a void like this."

"It's been a few weeks," Robin replied. "Have there been any sightings of Slade since he took off with Star?"

"Nope—it's been pretty quiet here," Cyborg reported. "Besides those delusions this darkness keeps trying to spring on us, that is."

"Do you guys have a plan on how to confront Slade and his _shadowy henchmen?"_ Beast Boy asked them.

"Not quite yet," Raven replied. "My first concern was just _getting here—_I didn't put much thought into what we'd do after the fact."

"How do you plan to confront Slade in a place like this anyways?" Speedy questioned, looking around in all directions. "This place is pitch black—it's hard to tell what's out there, what's up from down—or even how far you've gotten when you're travelling."

"It's possible he's gonna have the upper hand in this place—considering he's the one working with those _shadow cretins,"_ Jinx made a point to point out. "I'm starting to like the odds even less the more I think about all of this."

"I'm glad that you were able to point that out, my dear." The voice eerily echoed in the shadows and all around them. The source wasn't physically evident, but that didn't prevent a few of them from easily recognizing where it came from.

Of those few that did—one in particular's blood was boiling so fiercely it was a shock it didn't burn him up from the inside out. "You all are strangers here—but I am _more than familiar _with the surroundings."

"Show yourself Slade!" Robin demanded in an infuriated tone. "Don't be a coward and keep hiding behind your shadows!"

"For the time being—I prefer it that I stay hidden in the shadows," Slade's voice carried, no evidence of him anywhere. His disembodied voice continued on. "I want to run you through a few_ tests_ before I bother to reveal myself—and my intentions."

"Tests?" Raven questioned suspiciously. "What _kind_ of tests?"

"Ones I'm sure you'll find quite fascinating, Raven," Slade marveled, getting on her last nerve. "As I'm sure will the rest of your little _motley crew _here."

"Okay—I wasn't expecting to be dealt any kind of tests from the likes of Slade," Jinx remarked. "The last one he slammed me with—I failed, miserably."

"What have you done with Starfire?" Robin demanded from his archenemy cloaked completely in the shadows. "Why did you take her captive in particular?"

"I have her conveniently kept up in a place where you can't reach her," Slade's voice intoned, adding with an eerily reassuring note, "She is—for now—unharmed, and will be my collateral in the meantime. I assure you she won't be harmed for the time being."

"You offer empty statements all the time, Slade," Beast Boy stated angrily. "How can we even _believe _that she's safe?"

"If you must have proof—here's the proof." More like a realistic projection rather than the real thing, a visual manifested right in front of the party—one of a melancholic and huddled Starfire. Outside the fact that she looked deep in despair—she looked physically intact. Her eyes—although downcast—shone some hopeful light deep within their bright emerald green—

As quick as the projection had appeared—it was gone. Where the sad and somber Starfire once existed shadows resumed her place. In a befuddled state, Beast Boy had begun chasing the shadows in alarm looking for her, but eventually came to a halt as he sunk to his knees.

"Damn you," Beast Boy muttered under his breath.

"Was that really Star—or was that just a silly projection?" Cyborg had the nerve to ask.

"It's a little bit of both," Slade's voice carried. "It really is her, but—in order to keep her close and not expose her to your presence—a projection of her in real time was shown. I can't have her being influenced by you just now. Nor can I have you snatching her away that easily."

Raven looked over at Robin standing beside her, recognizing all too well the expression of revulsion clearly written all over his face.

"What do you think we should do?" Raven asked him in a lower tone. He looked over at her, his expression shifting for the moment towards uncertainty.

"Rae—I honestly don't know," Robin admitted.

"Should I—just give in and go through whatever tests Slade's set on putting me through?" Raven asked him. He looked at her, pained. Unexpectedly though, he grudgingly nodded.

"I really don't want to put you up to it, but—" Robin trailed. She nodded.

"I'll go through with it," Raven finished for him. "I might be the only one who can really put up a fight here; everyone else might just get in the way. The last thing I want is to see any of you injured." He nodded in recognition, a particular thought on that matter painfully evident on his face. She acknowledged that he was worried about her for that same exact reason. She'd witnessed signs of that in him from another time before; _actually,_ _a few instances before—_

Like he'd been overly worried about her since the day she'd been injured—she'd been concerned about him since that day he'd been rendered unconscious by the shadows in that garage in Gotham. She couldn't seem to shrug that irking feeling away completely that it had affected him more than he'd care to let off. It gave her even more reason to be the one to take on the responsibilities of direct confrontations—and not him. She couldn't help but feel that she needed to protect him from dealing with the shadows—Slade—directly…in fear that he might be impacted by it somehow.

_I couldn't have that, I just—couldn't—_

"Slade—what _exactly_ did you want me to do in order for you to let my friends go peacefully—including Starfire?" Raven demanded in a louder tone to the darkness, which consumed the location of the archenemy. "What _do you need from me?"_

"What I need…" it almost seemed as though Slade was contemplating over the concept. A few moments were dragged out—as if to further implicate that. "What I want is...to test your faith." He fell silent, leaving Raven to question that statement in her mind.

"Test my faith?" Raven exclaimed. "What do you mean—_test my faith_?"

"I want to see where you true loyalties lie," Slade's voice carried a heavy sense of smugness in it. "See just _how devoted _you are to your light side—or your _dark side."_

"_You know_ I wouldn't give into my dark side," Raven retorted rather bitterly. A hollow disembodied cackling followed that up, unnerving her deeply. "Unlike that _monster_ I regrettably have to call my father—I'm not evil."

"In the normal reality—that easily could've been true. But in this world inherently run by shadows—the very depths of evil that even the likes of you can only begin to fathom—one can never be certain of what they _really believe."_ Slade materialized from the depths of the darkest shades ever so abruptly. "This world, this—reality—has a way of affecting you in ways you can't even begin to imagine. Just like it did to your ever so cheerful teammate. Just think—what a world like this does to an optimist…what can it do to someone who is so much closer to their dark side—someone who tends to borderline between being a realist…and a pessimist?"

"Just get to that _test_ you mentioned," Raven grated irritably. All the while he moved closer, she watched him rather carefully. Although she paid no attention to her friends' reactions at that moment, they expressed them rather openly just the same; Her teammates were all on the verge of reaching their boiling point while the rest were somewhat influenced by that fact with their own reactions. Bumblebee was at the ready to make a strike if the need arose, Speedy's hand hovered very near his arrows and his bow was taut and at the ready, and Jinx had set aside her uneasiness for the seething hatred she felt for the madman who'd duped her once before.

"This reality—this _realm of darkness—_it appears as if it's just a wealth of shades black as ink, but if you focus further…you'll realize it's not as dark as you actually see it." Slade's eye glinted eerily as it watched her—waiting for her response. Raven held her breath—and her tongue. Not satisfied with that, he _pushed_ the conversation further. "You see, Raven—evil is not always as dark as it seems. It can come in something that's lighter than you'll ever suspect." He stood within a few feet of her, that very fact unnerving her. "That's something Starfire has already come to realize. The thing is—will you?"

"No," Raven stated it very firmly. "I already know that evil isn't always as black & white as it often appears—but I won't end up letting that affect me to the point like it has Starfire. Unlike her—I won't let this place get to me. I've seen through her eyes what she's been witnessing—and I can't let myself be affected by it. " _I also hope I can save Star from being permanently affected by it as well_—

"Would you still hold that belief—if you were pitted against one of your own teammates?" Slade asked her. He got a response from her—a look of confusion and her staring questioningly at him. Taking some satisfaction in that fact, he decided to play it even further. "A duel, where you had to fight—to the death?"

Raven looked at Beast Boy and Cyborg with questions lingering in her eyes. She then turned her gaze over towards Robin, with even more questions lingering in her gaze. His expression reflected pretty much the same.

"That wouldn't happen," Raven claimed, her voice coming off uncertain. "They would never resort to that kind of thing—no matter what."

"You should never be certain of something when even you yourself sound uncertain with every word you speak," Slade made a point of reminding her, obviously taking note of her uncertainty. "Because—in a place of darkness such as this—you can never _really _be so certain just_ what _might happen." He came to stand too uncomfortably close to her before he seemed to dissolve back into the furthest reaches of the shadows. Like as if he hadn't been there—even though it was just a moment before that he was. A long drawn moment after he'd faded into the darkness, his disembodied voice spoke.

"_You might want to reconsider your answer_."

XoXoX

The darkened air hung dense all around them—tension caught up within it leaving all present still and anxious. Silence had fallen in as the last of Slade's spoken words were uttered in the presence of darkness; the villain had apparently decided he needed not to speak yet another word on his special little _speech._

Raven could feel the density of the air making it harder to grasp each breath she took in. She wasn't sure if her rapid breathing was a result of that in particular—or if the anxiety was getting to her.

Slade's words—those last words that had been his statement to her—should she really take those words into consideration? Could something _really _make one of her friends turn on her, without any hesitation? She glanced over from Cyborg, to Beast Boy, to Robin—would one of them really do that? Or is it possible Slade had manipulated Starfire enough for her to be the one to carry out that kind of maneuver—

The surroundings were abruptly ablaze in bright fiery hues of the likes of flames, without the heated intensity that would mark it as an instance of a fire. The heatless flames in hues of amber, tangerine, and vivid scarlet danced around with a life all their own. The almost surreal flames obscured several in Raven's company from her view; Cyborg and Beast Boy had all but been lapped up completely by the flames. Bumblebee and the others that had joined them from her party were completely blocked from her view—almost as if they didn't even exist.

Robin was the only one she could vividly see—which could very likely be from the fact that he was nearest to her. At least, that's what _she thought—_

The surrealistic dance of the flames became more vivid and intense—it was a wonder no heat emanated off it as it continued to grow. In the fieriest of flames, Slade manifested from within—with a pitiful looking Starfire beside him. Emanating in the fathoms of Starfire's usually bright, shining emerald green eyes was the deepest entangled torment Raven had ever witnessed from them. The sight of her deeply melancholic friend made her freeze up where she stood.

_Would he really pit Starfire up against me in a fight to the death—could he really manipulate her enough in her depression to actually—?_

Raven watched both the villain and her friend incredulously, still half dubious of that possibility. She waited, frozen in place for Slade to make that command—and for Starfire to turn in a way Raven never could believe. As she watched and waited, the command never came. Slade never raised his hand or voice to will Starfire to his demands—and Starfire never ceased from her never-ending mood of melancholy.

The only thing Raven caught was a flicker and eyes widening from Starfire herself before she was unexpectedly knocked off her feet. It took Raven several moments to recover from the blow—make sense of what had caused it. The dancing heatless flames didn't make it any easier, seeming to blend the realms of reality with one that tended to be out of focus. When she managed to recover her full sense of perception, she sent glances around for a culprit. She had suspected it to be the work of Slade's _shadow minions;_ she thought wrong.

It had been the one who she had seen the most vividly when the flames had manifested themselves into existence. The one who had been right beside her the whole time.

_Robin—_

XoXoX

Her recovery from the shock took longer than she could have expected; the delay was enough to give him another chance at another strike. Raven just luckily managed to roll out of the way of him flying right at her. She tumbled a few times before she managed to get back on her feet.

"Robin, please—don't give into this!" Raven pleaded, hoping she could make some kind of impact. He showed no literal response other than to continue to make his attacks. She barely managed to dodge each attempt; she couldn't make a defensive strike, _she couldn't—_"Please, Robin! Listen to me! We're friends, teammates—not enemies!" Her pleas never seemed to hit home, for they never registered in his expression or actions. It almost seemed as though the moves being made were not his own.

_Like as if he's almost, somehow—possessed—_

The heatless flames danced all around, the effect—plus her efforts to dodge Robin's attacks—were starting to make her feel dizzy. Reality blurred with the hues of the surrealistic fire, causing Raven to miscalculate one move. _Robin_ managed to make one successful strike on her, sending her harshly off her feet and to the dark surface. When she'd managed to recollect her senses enough to recline herself and look up, Raven noticed the look of pure mortification haunting the expression on Starfire's face. Her eyes were terrified—wide and near bulging. Her fingers were so embedded into the sides of her face they were almost eating into her skin.

Raven could only manage to make out one mournful word that Starfire uttered dispiritedly—_Robin._ Raven turned her focus away from her towards that one being in particular—questioning to herself why he'd even been submissive enough to be manipulated into attacking her.

_Robin _stood still and stern_,_ an etched frown displayed on his face that was obviously not his own. Raven wasn't sure when he'd make his next move; she was frozen—watching him and waiting.

"You're hurting me—and you're putting Starfire through torment, why can't you fight back—back down? Robin—this isn't you!" Raven pleaded with him as he reached for something from his utility belt. She was beginning to feel desperate. "Robin—how can you even do this after all the torment you went through when you discovered me close to dying back at the tower that night? Did that all mean nothing?" Nothing she said seemed to register through to him.

_Almost as if he's obliviously to what I'm saying_—

Raven managed to get to her feet, feeling the tenderness of bruising to one of her legs as she stood. She stood still and watched him; he had frozen up momentarily, the hand reaching for something from his utility belt just hovering above something on it. She watched and waited as the environment grew ever more tense. Droplets of sweat accumulated on her brow. She couldn't seem to help recollecting all the moments they had struggled though up till that moment, the trials and tribulations—

—And then it struck her. The moment he'd been rendered unconscious…had there been more of a motive behind it than to strike him out? Raven's eyes widened as the realization set in.

_That strike—it made him vulnerable—_

She wasn't one hundred percent certain. _There has to be a way to tell—_Raven's eyes were drawn to his mask. It dawned on her that maybe, just maybe—the answer lay just behind it—

Raven made the first _defensive _move she'd made during the fight—catching _Robin_ off guard enough to falter and not have the opportunity to react properly. Her hand moved swiftly and precisely as she displaced the mask from over his eyes. The mask fell away and into the depths of the surreal fire, revealing the eyes that always hid behind it.

Raven had never been certain what color his eyes really were—but she was dead certain that the color she perceived was not natural. What she saw glowed a fiery unnatural red—a stare with more depths of hatred and evil than she knew Robin could ever normally possess.

Somehow they seemed eerily familiar—those ghastly glowing red hued eyes that _Robin_ happened to possess.

_Where have I seen that before—?_

_The eyes of that ghastly shadow being back in the garage where we were attacked._ Raven noted that familiarity quite well. _I wonder—is the same shadow creature that struck him down back then possessing him?_ She didn't have a moment more to ponder it over; _Robin_ made another move that she had to put all of her ability to maneuver into managing to avoid it in time. A mere matter of centimeters of space passed between them as he breezed by her quickly. He quickly righted himself to make another attempt after the last failed; she was ready as well.

_There's got to be a way to dispossess him, _she thought to herself as she fought to catch her breath. _Before he actually succeeds in taking me out—_

While she was caught in thought, he made a decisive blow that clearly caught her off guard. The impact she made with the ground was hard—enough to reinjure the shoulder that had just managed to heal. As she felt the impact of his foot striking her hard, she had let out a sharp startled cry. When she had struck the earth, her cry had become painful. As she tended to her wound, she could feel the stream of salty liquid running down her face.

"Please, Robin—please!" Raven pleaded more desperately than before. He stood over her, looking down upon her like she meant nothing. She knew it was because of the possession, but she couldn't help it making her heart ache in acknowledging it all the same. "Don't you _at all_ recall all that we went through to get here? What you did for me—what I did for you? Can you hear anything I say at all?" She tried to get back onto her feet, but her shoulder gave way under her arm—not allowing her to move. She made herself lie down as she pressed her hand on the tender and damaged region of her shoulder. All the while she watched him—his face frozen with one expression in particular—_hate—"_Please Robin—I can't keep fighting like this anymore, I just—can't." He stood still, the heatless flames dancing surreally in the background making it harder for her to focus on him. She could feel the tears hot and heavy, cascading down her face. "Robin—you're more than just a friend to me…I-I—I love you."

There was but the slightest of flinches resulting from her words—but not enough for the right kind of reaction. Her shoulder was starting to feel like it was healed enough to withstand her weight as she got up to her feet. She rested her palm against her still ailing shoulder as she stood fully—standing face to face with him.

"I'm not sure if you even heard what I said," Raven stated somberly. She removed her hand from atop her still tender shoulder, raising it along with the other up to rest on each side of his face. She closed her eyes momentarily to clear the last laden tears from their borders, as well as refresh them from being so dry. She reopened them, looking directly into the haunting and eerie gaze he possessed. "I so hope that you'll at least be able to feel it."

The dancing of flames became more entangled around as she drew nearer to him. The sense she felt from it was that the two were somehow alone—caught up in that void far from home. She got not one sense of Bumblebee and her team, or the presences of her friends Beast Boy, Cyborg—or even Starfire. All she could sense was Robin—and herself.

"I hope you won't hate me for this." Raven murmured it very softly as she came to a pause—her face hovering very near to his. She closed her eyes as she drew even nearer. He stood immobile—not even showing a hint of reaction as she brought herself in contact with him. At first his stance had been rigid, but little by little—as she kept her grasp upon him—he seemed to relax. When she finally managed to get herself to let go of him, she stepped away from him and looked at him, hoping that somehow—some way—he'd gotten her message.


	20. Shadow Eclipsing

**_I ended up getting that dratted cold that's been going around, and it took two weeks to finally shake it off. Ugh, I really don't enjoy getting sick._**

**_Anyways, here's the next chapter :-)_**

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Chapter 20: Shadow Eclipsing

He stood frozen as a statue as she observed him, fervently waiting for at least some kind of response. His eyelids had shifted shut, making it appear as if he was in a state of stasis—or possibly a possessive transition—

"Robin?" Raven hoped saying something might break him away from the trance he was in. At first, there was no response—but then there was an abrupt tremor from him, as if he'd suddenly just been awoken. He slowly started to become alert to all that was around him.

When his eyelids shifted open rapidly all of a sudden, he automatically looked over at her. Unlike before—his eyes didn't house the hatred or hostility that had clearly emanated from them. His eyes appeared instead as they normally should—calm, decisive, concerned—as well as a little bit confused. She noted that they also were a nice vivid shade of blue—

"My mind's a little bit foggy, but—what happened?" Robin inquired curiously. Instead of responding immediately, Raven found herself suddenly embracing him. Caught off guard and a little bit perplexed, He just stood there as he accepted her gesture. His gaze was quizzical when she managed to peel herself away and return her gaze to him.

"One of the _shadow beings_ possessed you—and made you go one-on-one with me in battle mode," Raven told him. "You don't have any memory of what happened while you were possessed?"

"I recall being forced to make moves I normally wouldn't," Robin replied. "There are flashes of a few things here and there, but—only one thing really sticks in my mind clearly from the whole experience."

"What do you recall?" Raven asked, a bit nervous about what his reply would be.

"It was something that you said," Robin told her. He looked at her with all of his attention focused on her. "I'm not sure if I heard what you said correctly…did you tell me that you love me?"

Raven found herself averting her eyes somewhat as she knew she was blushing slightly. He continued to watch her—waiting for an answer. She eventually got up the nerve to give him one.

"Yes, I did," Raven was looking directly at him. "I-I—also kissed you. It-it did get you out of that trance—"

"I think I recall that too," Robin noted. "Rae, if you feel that—"

"If it was a problem—that I was wrong in doing that…I'm sorry," Raven apologized. "It's just—after all that's been going on, I—I just…felt myself getting closer with you." Her eyes solemn, gaze caught up in his. "If what I did was really a _mistake—"_

"_Rae."_ Robin grasped her hands in his firmly. "Don't you _ever_ think that it was a mistake. You broke the trance—you saved me, _and_ you prevented me from literally killing you. If anything, I should be _thanking_ you for that." He hugged her unexpectedly, startling her—her eyes widened in confusion.

"Uh…okay, I won't think of it as a mistake then," Raven stated after he'd let go of her. She looked at him abashedly. "I—I am left wondering though—uh…what do you feel for me in return? Was it all said in vain?"

"Rae—this isn't the place right now," Robin bothered to remind her. She received it as not being a rejection—she recognized that this wasn't the place. She only had to look around to realize that.

"When we get out of this—will you give me the answer then?" Raven asked him. He nodded as the flames the two had just begun to realize again continued their fiery vividly hued dance all around them. Everything was still obscured by the flames—their teammates, Bumblebee and her tagalongs, as well as Slade and his captive, Starfire.

"Where did these flames come from?" Robin asked her. "This place was pitch black the last time I can really recall."

"It started up just after Slade had you possessed by one of his minions," Raven told him. "As for their source…I don't really know. It's possible…they're just one of the illusions you can see if you allow yourself to see it."

"Where did everyone else go?" Robin asked her. She looked around, uncertain.

"I—don't really know," Raven admitted. "In all the commotion, and with this delusional fire _burning all around us—_I lost track. The last I can recall was seeing Starfire with Slade…and seeing her purely mortified by the fact that you were _willingly _trying to battle with me to the death. I—I think that was too much or her."

"Do you think…she'll be able to recover after this?" Robin asked her poignantly. Raven shrugged.

"Robin...I really don't know," Raven replied with a regrettable note. "But—I hope she will."

"Me too." As Robin and Raven watched the illusionary flames dancing around them, they noticed that they were starting to fade away in much the same way they had come. After only a few moments everything was pitch black yet again.

"It looks like you managed to overcome your obstacle and somehow win the battle—without the outcome turning fatal or resulting in some other form of casualty," Slade's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He remained invisible to them, hiding himself still in the shadows. "Your method wasn't one that I was expecting, however."

"Since I managed to be successful in that _test_ of yours—can you _please_ let Starfire go now?" Raven demanded. There came a hollow echoing chuckling, as if in response.

"I wasn't really intending on giving her to you so easily," Slade chuckled again, a grating sort of chuckle that got under the two teammates' skin. "To do that wouldn't really be my style."

"There you guys are!" Beast Boy exclaimed suddenly out of nowhere. As the illusionary flames died down, he came rushing over towards where Robin and Raven were, followed closely by Cyborg. When he stopped not far from where they were, he was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath. "We kinda lost you there for a moment. We both saw Robin take a strike at you, Rae—and then we lost sight of both of you. Can you give us a hint about what happened?"

"Slade had me possessed by one of his shadows so that I would fight against Raven—whether I would've wanted to or not," Robin told them. "Which I of course_ didn't want_ to go along with."

"We could hear Slade's voice over all the illusionary mumbo-jumbo about having one of us actually fighting with ya in some kind of duel to the death, which was something neither one of us could believe would happen," Cyborg rubbed at the back of his neck. "I guess I underestimated what could really happen, cuz he ended up pitting ya against her, I guess."

"By the way—how'd you end up dispossessing Robin anyway, Rae?" Beast Boy asked her, looking at her in particular. She looked off to the side, not wanting to give him the actual answer.

"She managed to push the _shadow being_ that was possessing me out of me completely," Robin told him for her. "She somehow found that she had to ability to do _just that." _He looked at Raven as he spoke, and she showed that she was grateful he didn't disclose what _really _had happened to them with the expression she displayed on her face.

"So, ya gotta suggestion for a way of getting all of us outta this in one piece?" Cyborg asked them.

"We have to beat Slade at his own game," Robin stated.

"Yeah—but how do you suggest we do that?" Beast Boy questioned him. "Slade's got himself hidden behind this cover created by his _shadowy pals—_and we haven't got a clue how to navigate this infinite black void just yet. Did you have something in mind that you'd like to share?"

"I might," Robin told him. "Do you think you two can go scout out wherever Bumblebee and the other three might be around here and gather them up?"

"We could," Beast Boy replied. "Do you have any ideas that might make it easier to track them all down by the way?"

"They should all have their communicators on hand—just trying contacting them that way," Robin suggested. "While you guys are busy with that, we'll try to come up with a way to bust Starfire free of Slade's captivity. When you guys manage to find all four of them—let me know by communicator. Got it?"

"Yeah, all mighty leader—I think we've got it," Beast Boy said half jestingly.

"We'll let ya know when we find them," Cyborg said. "Okay, BB—let's get a move on, and find Bee & company."

The two moved on into the depths of the shadows, swallowed up in it rather unexpectedly. When the two were all alone, Raven turned to look at Robin.

"Why didn't you tell him the whole truth?" Raven asked him. "That I had to kiss you to break the _shadow_ _creature's_ hold on you?"

"There are just some things they don't need all the answers to," Robin informed her. "Besides—did you _want _them to know?"

"Well—no, not exactly," Raven admitted.

"I figured that much." Robin smiled just then, and them became serious again. "Do you remember about that book entry you read back at the hospital when Bruce was being admitted—the one that had you troubled when we were getting ready to leave Gotham?"

"The entry about the _mistress of darkness_?" Raven replied. He nodded. "Why are you asking me about that?"

"I've been thinking about it," Robin stated. "And something about it occurred to me. Remember how you told me how the _shadow beings_ also wanted you because you can, in a sense—_move shadows?"_

"From that conversation we had the other night while we were alone together on the roof?" Raven asked him.

"Yeah—that would be the conversation," Robin replied. "Rae, I think the real meaning behind the _mistress of darkness_ isn't referring to the evil in your past—your so-called _father_, but actually your ability to manipulate shadows—darkness." His gaze met hers with his still unmasked eyes. "I think it means you could actually _control the shadows_ if you put your mind to it. The reason the _shadows_ wanted you was for that talent—so that you could push back that dark veil that separates this world from our own so they could have their free reign over our reality—but I think the concept also goes both ways, that it could be just as much of an advantage for us as it could be a disadvantage to them."

"Do you think it would be enough…for me to be able to get Starfire free of Slade—as well as get us all out of here?" Raven replied. He nodded slightly.

"That's my theory anyways," Robin told her. "You just have to put it into action to see if it's totally possible."

"It wouldn't hurt to try it I guess," Raven replied.

XoXoX

_The fires had been so furious as I watched them fight. I cannot believe he would do such a thing—that I would witness him attack our friend Raven like he did—_

Starfire still couldn't seem to accept the fact that Robin would do such a thing—but she knew she couldn't deny it; she'd seen it with her own eyes.

_I kept hearing her pleas for him to stop—but he would not._ The thought made her heart sink. _Yet—he would not. He was persistent as he always is—he kept going—_

She knew Raven had seen the expression on her face as Starfire had also noticed she too looked desperate. It was one of the few occasions Raven had ever openly cried—and knowing well this was something her friend wouldn't do unless the occasion really called for it—it only tore at Starfire's heart even more about the reality of the situation.

It was just about the time where Raven looked at her most desperately that the fiery flames consumed them both up. Starfire could feel the warmth emanating from the flames as they grew ever so brighter and wild. She feared that they might feel the intensity of it themselves—

"Do you feel the warmth of the flames?" Slade bothered to bore into her consciousness with a comment. "From your reaction—I get the sense that you can."

"How could he?" Starfire murmured. It was obvious Slade heard her rather clearly.

"Whom are you referring to, my dear?" Slade bothered to ask her. He knew the answer all too well, but he knew bringing it up in conversation would torment her even more—the kind of thing he was known for.

"I cannot believe Robin would attack Raven like I saw him do," Starfire said. "I so much want to believe he would not sink to such a level—but my eyes cannot lie; I saw him make the strike—and the tears that streamed from her eyes—"

"It's all real—what you saw _did_ happen," Slade told her, trying to hammer disillusion into her already fragile psyche—knowing well that he was having success with it. "Just like the fire you're seeing and feeling right now—it was all very real."

"The flames—are bright, and very—_very_ warm—"Starfire seemed to get lost in the distant dancing flames, her sanity being tested and lapped at by those very fiery illuminations.

"And they will only get warmer, my dear." Slade seemed to mingle in with the flames, for when she bothered to look up to where he'd been—he was obviously absent. "_Until it all fades into eternal darkness."_

Starfire hugged her knees even closer to herself as she barely was able to suppress back the urge to cry.


	21. In The Illusionary Flames

_**As a treat for the long hiatus, I'm posting another chapter of this. Hope you enjoy the read!**_

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Chapter 21: In The Illusionary Flames

"Where'd your other two teammates go in this fathomless black void we all just happen to be in?" Jinx asked Beast Boy and Cyborg as the emerged from the shadows. "Besides the two of you and the two of them—everyone that can be has been accounted for. I'm not counting your teammate Starfire because we all know what's going on with her."

"They're concocting some kind of plan while they sent us to look for all of you," Beast Boy replied. "So—you guys all managed to stick together this whole time?"

"Bee and Speedy got separated from us for a short time—but we all managed to find our way back to each other via communicator," Jinx replied. "Just like you guys did with us."

"Did y'all also see the illusionary fire earlier as well—or did ya only see a bunch of shadows?" Cyborg asked.

"We did witness a heatless fire that just ceased a little while ago," Bumblebee noted. "Is that what you're referring to?"

"Yea—that would be exactly what I meant." Cyborg glanced around into the dark void. "Did any of you see anything or hear anything that might be useful?"

"Not a thing," Speedy spoke up. "Your teammates warned us that we'd be dealing with hearing things and seeing things, but so far—beside that fire—I haven't really seen anything."

"Robin said to contact him via communicator when we managed to find you guys," Beast Boy stated. "I probably should get around to that—so they know that things are sound from this end."

"While you're at it—can you tell you teammate Raven that I have an excerpt from that book of hers on shadows that I've been meaning to get back to her?" Jinx asked him. "The thing fell out of it a couple nights ago—and I keep forgetting to mention the thing to her."

"Yeah—I can try and mention it," Beast Boy stated, pulling out his communicator.

XoXoX

"I wonder what the extent is to how I can manipulate the shadows," Raven wondered aloud, looking up to Robin. "What do you think?"

"I really don't have an answer to that Rae," Robin told her. "All I can suggest is to test the limits out and see."

Raven had to think about it before she could figure what exactly to test. The realm itself was infested with shades; it was determining which to use to experiment with that was the question.

"Slade was able to call up illusions from within the shadows," Raven said. She looked at Robin, directing her eyes towards his unsheathed blue eyes. "I have to wonder if all those delusions and voices were solely products of the shadows themselves—or if Slade has always had his hand in that, and that the shadows couldn't concoct such things on their own."

"That might explain why the _shadow beings_ chose to start showing themselves just recently—they couldn't operate on their own without some kind of leader to show them the way or give them directions," Robin stated. "Didn't all the materials you studied state something about shadows being made up all the concentrated evil that exists in reality?"

"Yes, they did," Raven replied.

"Considering how Slade in his own right is fairly evil—I guess that makes him a good candidate for a leader for a concentration of it—especially after all that happened with him and the involvement he had with Trigon," Robin said.

"Something I have to wonder about that though—how could a normal human even qualify to rule over supernatural evil…and a realm mired in it?" Raven questioned. "Even though Slade has been our strongest opponent who always seems to the hardest to defeat—as well as being smarter and having more strength than most other villains we've dealt with—he's still at the end of the day pretty much just human. He shouldn't even be able to access this realm on his own—at least not without some kind of help."

"I didn't really think about that—" Robin was cut short by the ringing of his communicator. "They must have found Bumblebee and the other three." He flipped the device open to activate it, noticing it was indeed as he'd predicted. "Hey BB—did you guys find them?"

"Yeah—it took some wading through the dark, but we managed to find all of them," Beast Boy replied. "So—you got any plans to set in motion, or are we running on a blank slate right now?"

"We have something," Robin responded. "Can you keep the connection with us until we find you guys in this place? We might be able to track each other down by us talking back and forth."

"Considering GPS devices are pretty much useless in this void," Beast Boy stated. " Hey—can you tell Raven that Jinx has a page from that book she had that fell out of the thing? Jinx told me to a mention that when I got through."

"I'll pass that along," Robin replied.

"I think I sense their presences not far from where we are," Raven spoke up. "When I took the time to think over my ability to manipulate shadows—I tested out a few things, and I found out I can sense presences here in the shadows."

"That's a good thing to know," Robin told her. "If you could lead the way to them—I'd more than appreciate it."

"Something I think Ishould mention before we meet up with them," Raven said to him. She held something clasped in one hand. "I kind of had to…remove your mask earlier, and—I haven't bothered to get it back to you. I think—it might be good to do that before we meet up with the others. Cy and BB might've been oblivious to its absence, but I'm _sure_ the others will notice." She held the hand that was clasping something out to him. "I hope it wasn't a problem that I removed it, and—I just wanted to add…I love the blue shade that your eyes happen to be."

How he'd been oblivious to that fact—he couldn't fathom. It wasn't until Raven was handing it back to him that Robin even realized the mask was absent. He took it from her, hesitating for a moment before returning it where it was meant.

"I—didn't even realize it was absent," Robin admitted to her. "Uh—and thanks for the compliment on the eye color."

"Heh heh, how could I have missed that thing being absent from your face?" Beast Boy commented from the other end of the still active communicator. "You'd think since you've got it on twenty-four/seven, I'd have noticed something like that."

"I'll direct you towards where I sense their location is," Raven stated. "Now that _everything's _back in place."

"Lead the way then," Robin told her. And she did.

XoXoX

The flames that grew brighter and warmer were given more added in towards their effect. Dark etchings jutted from behind the bright amber glow—distinct hints of toppled buildings in ruin jutting above massive piles of rubble. A cityscape practically reduced to ruin—the foreground of amber a veil over the destructed backdrop.

_It almost appears to be—apocalyptic. Everything is in desolation—_

Starfire was utterly alone, not sensing even the presence of the villain who had brought her there as his captive. She was alone with these visions in the fire—these scenes of chaos—

_The sky—it is on fire. It is not from the likes of flames…it just—almost seems to be the dawning of the end—_

The flames crackled as she watched them burn, heard the cawing of crows in an undermined location. The birds appeared to be the only sign of life; everything else was silent ruins, etchings of various forms made in stone—

The shadows kept bothering to show her the same visions—over and over. Starfire couldn't grasp why they would torture her with the same visions again—but she knew she also couldn't keep her eyes away from them as they replayed.

Over, and over again—

XoXoX

Raven had no trouble tracking them down in the darkness. Moments after she'd begun the search—she managed to discover their whereabouts. Beast Boy still had his communicator in hand, still actively speaking to Robin on in. As soon as he spied them approaching, he snapped the device shut and went up to meet them with the others.

"So you can track people in this void now, huh?" Beast Boy stated to Raven as he approached them. "Why'd you not use that trick before?"

"I just started to realize I have the ability to actually manipulate shadows," Raven replied. "As part of my powers—I can control the shadows. To what extent…I'm still experimenting with that."

"Sounds like it could be something useful at least," Jinx remarked. "Before I forget—here. It's a page from that book of yours. It fell out—and I think you should take a look at it." She had a piece of paper folder in her handed. "I—kinda forgot the thing came out while I was reading outdoors. I was dealing with _a lot_ of distractions."

Raven took it from her, unfolding it and reading the handwritten text on it. One side contained two paragraphs, the back just one. She read it over.

"So—anything new?" Robin asked her.

"Two things," Raven told him. "Although—they're a bit cryptic. One paragraph states that I should look deeply into the shadows in order to make some realizations I have yet to learn. The other is a code to permanently close the gate between the two worlds." She looked at the back of the page, reading over that last paragraph to herself—_the illusions you think you see are really projections of the past, present, and future. Deceptions you wish to avoid, past aggressions you have managed to work through that still leaves some imprint—what you fear will happen that has not yet come to be. The shadow realm is a collection of feelings of aggression, regret, angst, hatred—and Evil. It is reflections of what has been—and will be—from the reality you have known, and exist in._

"What does it say?" Beast Boy spoke up, asking curiously.

_It is reflections of what has been—and will be—from the reality you have known, and exist in—_The last line repeated itself in her head in a voice not her own. It startled Raven; when Beast Boy had to bother asking her twice about the entry on that page, she jolted a bit.

"It—it's almost like a handwritten instruction directed at me _personally_," Raven spoke up. "The last line for some reason echoed in my mind—but it wasn't my voice I consciously heard."

"I see you have all managed to gather yourselves back together." The voice echoed and reverberated through the shadows, but the source could be seen nowhere. The source of course didn't need to be seen for him to be recognized.

"Stop hiding in the shadows Slade," Robin demanded from the villain hidden in the shadows. "You have our teammate—and we _still _have something to settle about that."

"I think I made my demands fairly clear earlier on to most of your other teammates on my conditions, Robin." Slade's disembodied voice came from the shadows again. "In order for your friends—Starfire included—to be allowed their freedom, the aforementioned exchange must be met—them for your other friend Raven."

"Sorry Slade—but I can't honor that deal, no matter what," Robin snapped. "I'm not making any sacrifices when it comes to my team. If I have to find my way through this to get us all out of here—I'll take my chances with that rather then give into your whims."

"Where are you keeping Star?" Beast Boy demanded, looking around every which way for the villain he was addressing. "What in the hell are you putting her through? Why did you choose her—out of all of us—to keep as your hostage? Answer me—dammit!"

"She was the one who was most susceptible to the effects of this realm." Slade suddenly made himself present outside his hiding place amongst the shadows. "You fought against it too much for it to be worth the while—and your half mechanical friend has a mental filter that makes it too hard to work with him. She on the other hand—was a willing participant."

"What are you putting her though now, Slade?" Raven questioned him. "What kind of dark thoughts are you feeding her? Can you give me even the slightest hint?"

"She seems to be stuck on the concept of flames," Slade smugly mused. "She can't seem to take her mind off the concept. I can't quite grasp why, but she seems quite drawn to the concept—whether it be the fire's warmth, two teammates caught in battle amongst the flames—or the burning and smoldering of utter chaos of apocalyptic proportions."

_It is reflections of what has been—and will be—from the reality you have known, and exist in—_The voice seemed to echo that same line over again in Raven's consciousness. She couldn't quite grasp why that line in particular chose to be persistent in trying to grasp her attention—or whose voice it was that kept repeating it—

_What does that line mean anyways?_ She asked herself. _Is it even relevant to anything that we're dealing with right now—_

Slade had just stated that Starfire's mind had been consumed by thoughts of fire since he began manipulating her mental state using the influence of the shadows surrounding them. Raven recalled all those dreams she'd had where she'd unconsciously linked up with Starfire's mind, especially that very vivid and _very real_ vision she'd had a few nights earlier. So many of her own nightmares had been related to fire—her first actual one had been one of apocalyptic proportions. The more she thought over the details, the more familiar it seemed to her somehow—

_It is reflections of what has been—and will be—_apocalyptic fires—

_Could it really be—? _"It's starting to make sense," Raven murmured. Louder, she said, "Starfire's been seeing visions of something from the past—hasn't she? Fires—the _apocalypse—_it's almost like you're making her relive the day my _father_ brought on the _end of the world_, where everything was burning, dark, dead, smoldering—or turned to stone. I've been witnessing a bit of what's she's been seeing for myself, and when I think about it—that's what it feels like it is for me." She directed her angry glare at Slade. "_Why_ did you choose to subject her—me—to that memory in the first place?"

"Because, it apparently is one memory that still haunts you both to some extent," Slade explained in an even tone. "Outside harming those you love and care about—you fear the influence Trigon has over you—and the kind of results that spring up when his influence wins over you."

"It might still haunt me somewhat—but I've chosen not to let it affect me like it once did," Raven stated. "My friends have also chosen to not allow it to affect them as well. I believe that _you're_ somehow exaggerating that affect with Starfire—making the influence it has on her strong enough to affect her in a way that it normally wouldn't. Whatever that might be—I'm going to stop it."

"Well, if you intend to _free_ your friend Starfire from _my influence_—you are going to have to discover her whereabouts in the dark yourself," Slade declared. "For that matter—_you _will have to defeat_ me _as well." He let out a haughty chuckle. "That is—if you can even find me in the depths of the shadows."

As the villain melted himself into the shadows, Raven turned to her friends and companions.

"I'm the only one who can chase after him—and find Starfire," Raven told them. She looked to Jinx, holding out that sheet of paper that Jinx had handed to her earlier. "For now—do you think you can keep this on you? What's written on it might become useful, and—I don't want it to get lost." Jinx nodded, and took the piece of paper from her grasp. Raven then turned her attention solely to Robin. "Is there anything—_anything _you need to say before I leave?"

"Make sure you get Star out safely," Robin told her. "And—get yourself out in one piece. I don't want to see either of the girls from my team losing their sanity in a place like this." She smiled reassuringly in response.

"I'll keep that in mind," Raven stated. "I—should go." She hugged him unexpectedly, and then moved towards her other two teammates. "BB, Cy—I'm sorry you guys got tangled up in this. I _will _make it right."

"Just get Star back, and Rae—you don't need to apologize." Beast Boy put one arm around her shoulders, Cyborg coming around on the other side. "_You_ tried to warn us;_ we _didn't listen."

"Yeah, Rae—if ya think about it—we kinda got ourselves in this boat when we didn't heed your warning," Cyborg told her. "All I have to say to you is—good luck girl."

"Thanks." Raven looked out towards the shifting shadows while her friends stood by her sides. _I wonder where she is out there in the depths of the darkness— _"I—should probably be on my way. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but—I _will _be back." She stepped away from her teammates towards the shifting shadows, turning towards them before she continued further. "Be well." She then faded into the shadows.


	22. Shadow Captive

_A/N: Only two more chapters in the Shadow Realm for anyone who was getting sick of it :P Here's part one. Part two coming up._

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Chapter 22: Shadow Captive

She searched the darkness first with her eyes—only to come up with nothing. Raven knew, in order to really track down his location, she'd have to scope out his location using her mental sense of tracking. She sent out her consciousness to the farthest reaches of the darkness filled void, looking for even the slightest imprint of the villain she was seeking.

She caught a sense of his signature, and she went to seek Slade out.

XoXoX

She managed to find him in the mingling of shadows. His figure—half visible and half shadowed in darkness—stood several yards from where she was. He stood watching her with a haunting expression eternally plastered on his masked metallic face.

"I see you know how to find me," Slade mused. "But will you be able to keep up with me if I put the effort in to evade you?" His darkened exposed eye glowed bright with an eerie flare of light. He melted back into the shadows before she had the chance to react and strike.

Raven sought him out—peeling layers of shadows away from where he was hiding layer by layer. He seemed to slip even further into them the further she managed to dig.

_Something about him seems odd—he almost seems…like he's avoiding a confrontation more than he usually does—_

She managed to get within striking distance of him—bringing the shadows in the close vicinity under her control to use and manipulate for her strike on her enemy.

She threw her attacks towards him; he dodged. She had gained control of the shades that were around her—was able to use them to her advantage, but somehow he still managed to evade her every movement. At first she had suspected that his natural ability as a fighter had trained him to avoid moves made by his opponent, but the more she tried to make a strike against him—the more she realized he was staying out of her reach instead.

_It's almost like he doesn't want me to make contact with him in any way; I wonder why that is—_

Raven caught flashes of flames; dark corridors—darkness in the sense of _evil _lying just beyond an ancient and deeply embedded gate. A quick glance of an armored guard standing before the gate—stance held to look intimidating. Flashes of a weapon wielded—and then the guardian was downed. A quick glimpse of a familiar masked villain—and then all reverted to original flashes of fire.

She wasn't completely sure about _what she saw_; she only knew that it involved Slade.

_The masked villain—who downed the guardian at the gate to evil, darkness and hell—_

Starfire was encased in a shell created by the darkness of the shadows. Even in her state of sorrow, she seemed to emanate an inner light that defined the barriers of her aura and the lingering evil all around her. Raven maneuvered herself through the onslaught of shadows towards her captive teammate—using a motion made by her hands to pry apart the barrier that encased Starfire.

Starfire looked up at Raven with disillusioned and haunted eyes, a look in them that was eternally chagrined. In a state of grief, Starfire got up onto her feet from her crouched and huddled stance, gripping Raven in a grief stricken embrace. Normally, Raven wouldn't have tolerated the level of pressure her friend was using in the grip—but she knew she'd make an exception in this case.

_Starfire's just too distraught for me to worry about that now—_

"I'm going to get you out of here," Raven reassured Starfire as she sobbed miserably. "It—I…uh—we're all going to get out of this—and never look back."

Starfire seemed to calm down a bit. She stopped her sobbing and broke the crushing embrace. Her eyes still spoke volumes of inner torment that probably would never leave her, but she seemed to have let some of the grief slip from her mind enough to get herself composed and competent.

"I—I believe that we will," Starfire said in a sorrow intoned voice. "Raven—there is something you must realize about Slade. He is not completely as he seems. It seems—he has been somehow affected by the shadows. He is slowly becoming one with them. He needs you—because you would be his last salvation to accessing our normal realm. Soon…he will be confined to this realm—and he will not be able to turn back."

Raven couldn't help but stare at her almost in disbelief.

"Slade—he slowly is being transformed by the shadows...into a shadow himself?" Raven exclaimed. Starfire nodded.

"Somehow he has been touched with too much evil for one normal being to contain," Starfire replied.

"Star—do you know _when_ this change started for Slade?" Raven asked her. "Did you ever get that fact?"

"It was—when he went to retrieve his soul from the underworld, I believe," Starfire replied.

_Those flashes I had; those are all from that moment, aren't they?_ Raven said aloud, "When Slade went to retrieve his soul from the depths of hell—his soul was tainted with too much evil for him to be able to exist in our normal reality then?"

"I believe that is so," Starfire replied. Her eyes became pitifully desperate. "Please—do _not_ give into any of his demands! It will not be any good for you, and—I just wish to leave this place before it can permanently claim my sanity."

"Star, I wasn't planning on giving into any of Slade's demands—I promise," Raven tried to smile, only able to produce the faintest etching of one in the end. The effort did brighten Starfire's expression some though; making her realize the effort was worthwhile. "The thing I've got to do first though is get us away from this void—back to the others—and then seal the barrier to this realm permanently, so that we'll never have to deal with it again."

"For the longest while I did not believe I would see you again," Starfire said. "I must ask this—what fate did Robin face when you two fought one on one? I never saw the outcome, and—I have feared the outcome was unfavorable for him. Tell me—were you able overcome the battle without also bringing harm to him?"

"He's fine," Raven assured her. "I…uh—a _shadow being_ was controlling him, and I—uh…managed to have him dispossessed of it." She didn't want to bother with explaining _how_, so she just left it at that. "He's back to normal, and—he is with the others—waiting for me to get you so we can get out of here."

"Then—can you lead the way back to where they would be?" Starfire asked her. Raven quickly, reassuringly—nodded.

"I can sense my way around in the darkness," Raven replied. "In fact—they're not that far off. It should only take me a few moments to get us both there." Even with all of her assurances, Raven could tell that her friend seemed troubled. _I wonder if this'll always affect her?_ She thought to herself. _I wonder if this version of Starfire will become permanent?_ She didn't want to have to think of it that way. _Maybe all it'll take is getting her out of here—_

XoXoX

Jinx was tapping the heel of her shoe against the hard dark surface that sufficed for the ground in that realm of darkness. The sound echoed eerily through the depths. She clutched the paper in one fist, impatience eating at her insides.

"I just wish there was something I could do while we're all waiting," Jinx ranted aloud. "I hate just standing around feeling useless while someone else does all the dirty work."

"Just be patient," Kid Flash assured her. "I'm sure—before all this is over—we'll get a role to play, big or small."

"Always the optimistic type," Jinx remarked. She grinned. "Which I really can't say is all that bad of a thing."

Two forms slipped out of the depths of the shadows just then, the two teammates that yet till now needed to be accounted for.

"I managed to retrieve Star," Raven spoke up, being one of the two returning souls. The other—Starfire—was quiet and looking sullen. Jinx couldn't help but feel sympathy just looking at the girl.

"So—were you intending on taking down that foe of yours then, or what?" Bumblebee inquired curiously. Raven noticeably shook her head no.

"There's really no need," Raven stated. "From what Star told me—he's doomed to be stuck here if I don't give into his demands."

"What do mean by that exactly, Rae?" Robin asked her.

"Slade's slowly becoming one with the shadows," Raven explained. "When he went to reclaim his soul during Trigon's _end of the world_ reign, he took in too much evil than was good for him, and as an aftereffect—it's slowly transforming him into a shade. Soon he won't be able to exist in our normal realm on his own free reign. It wasn't the shadows that needed me for any particular reason—it was Slade, because _I'm_ the only one who can give him the freedom to return and not be eternally confined here."

"So—he could end up permanently stuck here, and we wouldn't have to deal with him ever again?" Beast Boy said. Taking a moment to think over that, he grinned brightly. "I'd like that concept."

"I think we all would," Robin agreed. To Raven, "But is that really how it'll be for him?"

"I—" before she could give her answers something caught their attention elsewhere—at first a noise, and then a booming voice.

"Have you given up on our game of _cat & mouse_?" Slade emerged from the shadows in full form. "I'm quite shocked that you'd given up your pursuit. I _just_ had to investigate the reason why."

"I'm not chasing you anymore—and I'm not giving myself up to you either," Raven snapped. "I found out I really have no need to."

"I guess I'll just have to give you a reason to." Slade vanished within the shadows yet again, reemerging only when he could completely take her off guard. He was too painfully close to give her a chance to react; she breathed a gasp in shock as he ensnared her in his shadowy grip.

Jinx had kept herself level headed and was rather prepared for this kind of pursuit.

"Hey —I think you need a little taste of bad luck!" Jinx sent out several tremulous shockwaves from her fingertips, their strikes against her target giving him a taste of her hexes. The attack only seemed to shock though, so she continued to send a barrage of hexes towards Slade. In irritation, he knocked her from her feet with a surprising move made from within the shadows. With Jinx down—he disappeared completely with Raven.

"Raven!" Robin cried out. He'd sunk to his knees as Jinx was getting back up.

"Hey—don't worry about that girl," Jinx said. "She can handle herself. Plus—didn't she say she can manipulate and _control _shadows with her powers?"

"Yeah—and if what she said about Slade is a fact—" Beast Boy trailed. "Yeah—Rob, I don't think we have to worry—if that's the case."

"I hope that's the case," Robin said. A hand rested on his shoulder that he hadn't expected before. Starfire.

"It is, Robin," Although her voice was sorrow tinged; the words Starfire spoke were encouraging. "Let us have the hope."


	23. Fade Away

_A/N: Next part as promised. Hope y'all like :D_

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Chapter 23: Fade Away

At first she'd been entangled in the web of shadows that were weaved around her by the enemy and the shades still in his control. The shock of his sudden tackle and drag had caught her off guard enough to not allow her the opportunity to make a strike back—or an attempt to break free.

When Raven managed to gather her nerves enough to react, she made an attempt to struggle and break free. She concentrated on the shadows holding her down—trying to gain control over them. The process was a bit of a struggle, but eventually she got them to comply with her will.

_Stop holding me back,_ she mentally instructed the shades; they fell away and mingled back in with the rest of the darkness of the void. She broke free of their slipping grip, falling for what felt like ages until she struck a cold, hard surface.

As Raven got up on her feet, nursing the shoulder that she had reinjured from her last battle—she spotted Slade's silhouette in an amassing gray patch a short distance in front of her. Outside of the visual delusions, it was the first time any portion of the void had shown anything outside of darkness—besides the figures of her friends and herself.

Slowly the mass of gray started to fade and the silhouette became more defined. The definition continued until the fully fleshed out form of the villain stood before her—and not just as a shadowed manifestation.

"I'm sure you're aware by now what you're needed here for," Slade spoke to her, his tone unusually even and empty. "You're obviously aware of the fact that you can control the shadow beings that exist around you—that you are capable of great powers of shadow manipulation. But—" He came to confront her face to face. She stood her ground. "You should know that there are, of course—limitations."

"What do you mean—limitations?" Raven demanded. She narrowed her eyes angrily. As if to give theatrics to his answer, he thrust his fists forward—and took firm grip of her neck.

"You might have heard about my predicament," Slade said, pressing his thumbs against the defining middle point of her chin and neck. "How I'm slowly—_fading into the shadows._ You might have also gathered that—because of that—that you could gain control over me, manipulate me just like any of the other shadows. Unfortunately for you, my dear—it's a lot more complicated than that." He put more pressure under her chin with the tips of his thumbs, causing her to have some difficulty breathing. "I won't kill you Raven—I _do _need you, after all. I however will not go lightly on you. If you disobey me—you _will feel it._" He let her sink to her knees, gasping for air.

"I know…how you work—Slade," Raven replied between coughs. "I know how you like to manipulate people—I've dealt with it first hand. You say what you want people to believe—practically force them to believe it. This time though—I _won't _allow you to do that to me. Not after the last time."

"You've only begun to realize your potential with manipulating darkness like the kind that exists here. You don't have the experience to take it all on." He knelt down to meet her eye to eye. "Do you think you have enough practice to gain control of all the darkness that exists here—if it were to just happen to strike your friends down? Do you _really want _to jeopardize the safety of your friends—especially Robin?"

"I think—I just might." A sly grin emerged on her face as Raven's eyes took on an incandescent white. "You should know by now that I don't take lightly to threats made against my friends." As she got to her feet, her hand suddenly shot out and took the enemy's arm firmly in its grasp. "You might've not realized it, but—I've had enough strength to control the vast majority of shadows in this realm for a little while now. The only reason you were even able to take me on was because you took me by surprise." As her grip on his arm became firmer, he slowly began to lose some of his substance little by little. "It was bad enough you nearly brainwashed Starfire, abducted her along with Beast Boy and Cyborg and dragged them here and held them captive, made a mess of our home—_and _have made threats and attacks against me and Robin during our journey for answers; you crossed the line when you got Robin's mentor involved in all of this—and almost had him fatally incapacitated. Never mind what you did to his lair and his vehicle—what you did to the Dark Knight…I can't even bother to feel intimidated by you or allow you to make idle threats and then take them seriously." Her other palm took firm grip where her other one already was. "I'm too furious with you to even _be_ afraid of you in the least."

The villain was frozen in the stance he'd taken before she'd taken grip of his armored arm. He couldn't find it within himself to will himself to move. The glaring incandescence that shone brilliantly from her usually amethyst shaded eyes continued to grow brighter, and as it did—he slowly began to darken and fade.

"It looks like I _do _have the potential to control you after all," Raven stated as he slowly faded away into dark nothingness. "I actually was starting to doubt myself a bit—but then you started threatening the safety of my friends, and that all started to fade away." As the last vestiges of Slade began to fade out, she gave him one final note. "I wish I could have done this to you sooner; I guess I should be thankful I'm finally able to. Bye—Slade."

What she gripped in her between her fingers was nothing but empty darkness without substance. When she attempted the motion—her fingers formed into a fist without anything substantial getting in the way.

"He's—gone," Raven murmured to herself. The light faded from her eyes and she stood there, realizing how alone she was just then. "I guess I should get back—"

_You might have managed to make me insubstantial—but I still exist enough to pose a threat for your friends—that is, if you can't prevent me from doing something of that nature to them in time. _ His voice echoed in her mind in such an eerie way, it seemed unnatural.

Raven wasn't sure if she should take the threat seriously, but she rushed to find the whereabouts of her friends all the same.

XoXoX

"We need to get out of here now!" Raven's unexpected exclamation from the depths of the shadows caught the party off guard—for they heard her voice before she became visible. As sudden as her exclamation had been—so was her abrupt appearance from within the shadows.

"Did you manage to deal with Slade?" Robin asked her. She nodded.

"Yes—but I don't know how long that'll last," Raven replied. "I managed to force his conversion over to the shadow form, but—I still think he might be able to do something if we don't get moving."

"Doesn't having him converted into one of those shadows make it harder for us to keep track of him?" Beast Boy asked, looking around a little nervously while thinking about the prospect.

"Probably," Raven stated. _How do I get us out of here again? I just have to sense where the barrier—_

The shadows grew heavier around them as Raven had been contemplating in her mind. As if the dark void couldn't get any darker—it did.

"Uh—it's getting a little hard to breathe in here," Speedy commented. "Can you get that plan set into motion sometime soon?"

"I'm trying!" Raven exclaimed. She made a mental push to force back the shadow. It held back—but only temporarily. "If only we had bothered to bring some flashlights along with us," Raven muttered to herself as she tried to mentally hold the shadows back.

"So, light can hold these things back—huh?" Bumblebee spoke up. Raven nodded; Bumblebee grinned. "It might not be much of a burst of a light, but—I can give it a little shock of it at least." She took out her stinging rods and buzzed her wings a little in anticipation. She flitted up in full form, apparently in order to give the shadows the full effect of her _shocking _ability.

"If it must—I shall also try to use my powers to illuminate the premises—if I am capable of doing so." It was Starfire who spoke. Raven was a little surprised by the fact, but it also made her feel somewhat hopeful that her friend might recover.

Starfire stood—her eyes closed as she was caught in inner concentration. Raven knew Starfire's power triggers—she'd once been forced to use them a long time ago under strange circumstances. Anger, joy—her emotional triggers. She knew Starfire couldn't rely on her emotional joy as a trigger; would she be angry enough at what Slade has done to use that as a trigger?

As if to give her an answer to that question—Starfire opened her eyes. They were aglow with a neon green luminescence. As the light within her grew brighter, her fists took on an aura of glowing green luminescence. She spaced her hands together at a somewhat close proximity, watching as the glowing green aura expanded outwardly.

The light that Starfire produced illuminated the area within a dozen feet diameter at least. The shadows shied away, cowering back into the darker reaches.

"Will that be sufficient enough to allow you some concentration?" Starfire turned her glowing green eyes towards Raven.

"Yeah, I believe so," Raven replied. She began to concentrate again, like she had when she had first brought them there. She searched for that barrier between the darkness and the light. She could feel herself getting close—

_You're not going to escape quite that easily._ She could hear him taunting her in her consciousness. She brushed it aside, ignoring it. _Even if you manage to escape this place—there will always be a little of my influence lingering around; after all—he has been tainted a little by the darkness as well—_She heard an evil chucklingcoming from inwardly. She at first didn't grasp what the villain meant, but then she looked over towards Robin—

_Will he really always be darkened because of that attack made on him back in Gotham? _Raven couldn't allow herself to be burdened by that thought now. _I just have to get them all out of here, and then seal it up for good—_

She finally found the barrier. It was a faint beacon in the distance, but she definitely could sense it—

"I think—I can get us out of here now," Raven claimed. "If you can all gather close, I can transport us all out of here."

Bumblebee landed herself gracefully onto the hardened surface, storing her stinging rods where they belonged. The others gathered in close to where she'd gained her footing. Starfire kept up her illumination as Raven threw all of her concentration into transporting them all to the safety of the tower.

Moments before they escaped the realm of darkness, Jinx made one last vengeful strike.

"That's for failing me a very long time ago—and picking fights where you shouldn't," Jinx stated as her hexes struck home against the depths of oncoming shadows one last time. "This one's for you—Slade." She grinned viciously as she got in one last round of hexes. It was enough to hold the shadows back as they finally passed through the barrier and back into the realm where they belonged.

"Jinx—do you still have that sheet of paper that fell out of that book on you?" Raven asked her as both realized their footing in their normal reality. Jinx fumbled around for it in her sleeve. It fell to the floor. She bent to pick it up.

"Here," Jinx handed it to her. "You might want to make it quick. I'm pretty sure he's not gonna hold back for all that long."

"I know what you mean." Raven took the sheet from Jinx's grasp, unfolding it and reading what was written on it. She read a phrase from the sheet of paper in a language of which none of the rest could determine. When she was finished speaking, she looked directly at the hole between the two realms, using a motion with her hands to seal it up. The hole gradually closed down into nothingness. Where it existed before, now only Starfire's room was visible.

"It's finished," Raven sighed with relief. She sunk to her knees in the realized exhaustion that she was just starting to feel overcome her. Her shoulder—the one she'd injured various times over the course of the experience—began to throb painfully.

As the pain and exhaustion overwhelmed her, she found herself feeling unusually faint. Before she even realized it, she was sprawled out on the floor—and then she blacked out.


	24. Shadow of Love

_Hey there! This chapter is a little long than some of the last few. Hope you enjoy, and would love to know if if this story is being received well or not. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter!_

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Chapter 24: Shadow of Love

In the darkness all she could hear was maniacal laughter—a taunting and evil sound that just wouldn't seem to fade away.

Everything was a haze of fast moving blurs. Everything for her was out of focus—out of range. She couldn't tell if she was alert—or caught up in a dream. She could feel things with a bit of a faint sense, but at the same time—it seemed too surreal to be _real—_

Someone in the blurry haze before her was caught up in a struggle. In all the haziness it was hard to figure out what kind of struggle was taking place; she just knew that's what it was—a struggle.

She felt herself slip into the inner consciousness of the one caught in a struggle. From what she could make out in her vision—the struggle all along had been internal.

The mental battle played out in front of her like a living movie; it was a battle of strength—control. The struggle made by an invading force to gain control of the already inhabiting consciousness.

_I—won't—let you—control me!_ The host's consciousness declared. The invader mused at the declaration—almost as if it thought the declaration was rather pathetic.

_My presence has haunted you before. You can never permanently free yourself of my influence,_ the invading presence inclined. _No matter how much you wish you could erase my thoughts permanently from your consciousness—I will always come back to haunt you._

The players changed from being the battle between an unwilling host against an invading presence. She became familiarized with the two caught in that internal struggle for control.

_I might not be able to prevent myself from thinking about you from time to time—but I will be able to prevent you from haunting me. _The form of Robin from within his own consciousness confronted the invader without backing down. That invader prodded that by adding pressure.

_There will be a time where that won't be possible. What will you do when that time comes_? The invader was heavily shadowed, but the identity was distinctly Slade's.

For a moment Robin faded from the scene, and Slade became less shadowed—more defined. His expression was rather smug until Robin forced himself back into view.

_See? That was but a small shot. When I put all of my focus in the next time—you won't be so lucky to recover. _ Slade sounded half perturbed, half amused.

_I lost focus—and there won't be a next time_. Robin looked determined, as always. _You need to stay in the realm of the shadows—where you belong._

_You know as well as I do I can never settle with that—_

XoXoX

Raven awoke in confusion—in a place that wasn't familiar. The place was busy—bustling with many sound-creating activities. It took her mind a moment to clear up enough to recognize what kinds of sounds they were.

_Why am I in the—hospital?_ She asked herself as she reclined to look around. There wasn't anyone present in the room with her; she was surprisingly alone. She could hear noises coming from the hall, the sounds she recalled from the last time she'd been admitted when Robin had brought her in.

"Was that whole trip just a dream?" she heard someone enter through the doorway. Her gaze met up with her visitor, a wave of tensed relief and anxiety rushing over her.

"How are you feeling?" Robin's concern intoned voice asked as he approached her bedside. His expression was etched with concern for her.

"What put me in the hospital?" Raven asked him. "And for your answer—I'm feeling okay. I'm just a little confused."

"You blacked out on us when we weren't expecting you to," Robin told her.

"How long have I been out?" Raven asked him.

"About a week," Robin replied. "I tried to bring you to, but—you just wouldn't come to. Out of worry—we had no choice but to have you admitted. I'm thankful we did that. They told me you shouldn't have been discharged as early as you were the last time—they almost chewed my head off when they confronted me on that. Considering you've been out of it for as long as you have—it was probably smart that we did. I should've known better than to have taken your word and drag you halfway around creation on the trip we made when you weren't ready."

"Trip?" Raven said in confusion. Robin looked at her, baffled.

"When we went to Gotham to investigate Bruce's whereabouts and look for answers to our teammates' disappearance," Robin explained to her. "Don't tell me that's all slipped from your memory."

"No," Raven said. "I—I just thought that, when I woke up—that it might all have possibly just been a dream." She turned her attention directly towards him. "So, it wasn't a dream then?"

"It wasn't a dream—it all happened." Robin's follow-up smile was ironic. "We _really did_ go to Gotham and have all those confrontations with shadows; we _did _get answers with some help from Jinx; we also _did_ successfully cross over to the shadow realm, with some help again from Jinx and the company of her, Bumblebee, Speedy and Kid Flash, found our teammates—and rescued them all from Slade's clutches and got them back here all in one piece. We managed to accomplish our goal—and it all _really happened_."

"If we managed to save them—where is everyone?" Raven asked him.

"Bumblebee and her team headed back, and Cy and BB are just out getting something from the vending machines," Robin replied. "They should be back up anytime."

"What about Star?" Raven asked him. A long drawn moment of silence set in. From what she could determine, the expression on Robin's face suggested there was something he was holding back—that he didn't want to have to mention to her. "Is—there something wrong? Did something happen…with Starfire?"

"It happened not long after you blacked out," Robin began to explain, his tone sullen. "About two days after. Things were just starting to return to normal, Starfire was just showing signs of getting comfortable in the tower again, but then—I ended up having a mental break that ended up causing her to almost completely lose it. Since then—things haven't been going well."

"By mental break…what do you mean exactly?" Raven questioned him. "What kind of break could disturb Star that bad?"

"It kind of was a—possession," Robin told her. "I don't know how he was capable of doing it, but—Slade managed to have me struggle for control over myself temporarily. It was a short struggle, but—it was enough to freak her out I guess."

"While I was unconscious—I had a dream that sounds similar to that," Raven said to him. She looked down at her hands as she continued. "You were having an inner struggle with him. For a moment…he was successful—but then you managed to fight him back. While I was having that dream, I sometimes felt like I couldn't tell if it really _were_ a dream—or if it might be something that was really happening." She looked back up at him—her eyes sorrowed with that realization. "I guess—it wasn't just a dream after all."

"Yeah, it really did happen Rae—it wasn't just a dream." Robin got up and walked over to the narrow window overlooking the courtyard. "They'll be keeping you here for observation for another week—just to make sure you're completely healed when you're discharged this time."

"Robin—" Raven trailed. She wanted to say more, but for some reason she found she couldn't.

"I can't say that I don't agree with them on that," Robin turned his gaze away from the window and towards her again. "I'd been worried from the beginning that you weren't as healed up as you stated, and its been haunting me that you managed to conceal your injuries _that well_ from me the whole time we were travelling."

"The thing is—I _was_ completely healed," Raven said to him. "I was reinjured when you ended up possessed and throwing attacks at me—and I couldn't bring myself to attack you back. A few times your attacks caught me off guard; the reinjury to my one shoulder was a result of that. I don't think I _allowed _myself to feel the pain until we were all out of there and safe." She forced herself to get out of the bed she'd been confined to, much to his chagrin. The cold tile meeting with the flesh of her feet left her with an instant chill. "Until then—I'd been completely fine."

"Are you being completely honest with your answer, Rae?" Robin questioned as he watched her standing there.

"Have I ever been known as the type who'd lie?" Raven remarked. "Of course, Robin—I've been completely honest the whole time. I honestly felt fine when I left this place the first time, and besides a bit of tenderness here and there—I feel okay now." She approached him slowly—the chill of the tile something she chose to ignore. She came to stand face to face with him, the expression she wore serious. "Do you think you could find the ability somewhere within you to believe me when I say that?"

"I think I might be able to, Rae," Robin replied. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"So—what exactly happened with Star during that episode you had?" Raven asked him, opening her eyes to look at him.

"Well…we were having a fairly normal conversation when Slade decided to make his _intrusion. _Her eyes went completely wide in horror as she watched me struggle internally for control of my own body. Just as it was reaching its climax—she collapsed and passed out. It was about then I managed to regain complete control, and—realizing what had just happened—had to hastily track down BB and Cy in order to have them help me out with her until she came to. When she finally managed to though…" Robin paused, looking away. "She wouldn't allow me to see her. Beast Boy told me she'd explained that the shock from that episode was too much for her right now—it had surfaced some bad memories she couldn't deal with right now, and seeing me again would only reopen those wounds." His sorrowed gaze met again with hers. "Not long after that—she left. She'd apparently been mulling that over since the moment we returned. I get the feeling she never felt quite the same about things since she came back."

"I was linked with her mentally on several occasions while Slade had her confined, and—knowing what she witnessed—I can understand how all of this is affecting her." Raven found a chair and took a seat in it. "So—do you know where Star went after she left?"

"She left when Bumblebee's team headed out," Robin replied. "They stayed to help us with keeping order in the city until we could handle it ourselves, and then they headed out. Bumblebee felt sympathetic towards her, and—with some words from Cyborg—they decided to take her in." He looked out the window again. "Whether it'll be temporary—or she'll be there for the long term…that's where she decided to be for the time being."

"Are _you_ going to be okay with this?" Raven asked him. He turned his gaze away from the windowand again focused it on her.

"Yeah—I'll be okay," Robin replied on a solemn note. "I'll manage."

While he went back to looking out the window, she took to looking down at her hands. She couldn't seem to help feeling wracked with guilt for all that had happened. Beast Boy, Cyborg…Starfire—and then of course Robin—

"Need a sugar fix?" They both turned their attention to notice Beast Boy standing in the doorway, holding up a couple candy bars like they were his trophies. His broad grin upon entry quickly faded as his eyes widened and he'd realized Raven had come to. "Uh, Rae—I wasn't expecting you to be awake and alert."

"Do you mind if I ask for one of those?" Raven asked him, pointing out the candy bars in his grasp. He stood there looking quite baffled, her inquiry not quite registering with him.

"Huh?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "What? One of what?"

"I think she's referring to what you've got in your hands," Robin reminded him. "Those candy bars—if I'm not mistaken anyways."

"Uh—okay, sure," Beast Boy looked at the two he had in his hand. "Which one—do you have any preferences?"

"I'll take the one in your left hand," Raven replied.

"Before I hand this over to you, do you think you could get yourself back in bed?" Beast Boy asked her, grinning sheepishly. "Seeing you sitting there in just that hospital gown is kinda scaring me."

"I might as well. I'm starting to feel a little tired anyways," Raven replied, getting herself situated on it again. "Considering I'm being mandatorily kept here for another week, I might as well get comfortable lying down for the time being."

"I guess he filled you in with all the details then," Beast Boy took her previous spot after handing over the candy bar to her. "So—did he tell you about Star then too?"

"He did," Raven replied.

"Besides the thing that happened with Robin—I think your collapse had her rattled a bit. I guess…like the rest of us—she wasn't expecting that to happen. Unlike the rest of us though—" Beast Boy had peeled the wrapper away from the chocolate bar in his grasp and took a bite. "She kinda feared that Slade had done something to you as payback. She's been keeping in contact—asking if you've shown signs of improvement." He sighed. "This has been one tough week on us all I guess." He stopped talking, returning to working on the chocolate delight in his hand.

"Yeah, Star—I'll let 'ya know if anything—" Cyborg was just making his entrance while caught in conversation with someone on his built-in wrist communicator. He paused as he entered and looked up. "Raven's awake," he noted. "Yeah—that's exactly what I just said. She's sitting up in bed—awake and alert. I haven't had the chance to ask—yeah, sure—I will." He looked up from his wrist communicator and directly at Raven. "How're you doing—feeling okay?"

"Besides being a little exhausted and maybe a little sore—I feel fine," Raven told him. "Is that Starfire you're talking to?"

"Yeah," Cyborg replied. "She says she's feeling okay. None too worse for wear." A pause. "She looks completely fine—not haunted at all." He looked up at Raven again. "She's wondering if ya had any aftereffects from when you dealt with Slade at all?"

"Star—no, I haven't been dealing with any backlashes from dealing with Slade," Raven stated, directing it to Starfire specifically. "Outside succumbing to some injuries I received while we were there and the exhaustion I was hit with—I haven't struggled with anything else."

"Did ya catch what she said?" Cyborg spoke into his wrist-borne communicator. "She's content with that. When she gets the chance sometime this week—she'll come by and check in with ya." He returned to his conversation with Starfire. "Hey Rob—she says she's sorry for before. It's just after all that she's been through lately, those memories from being Slade's captive were too much for her to be forced to think about just then—as well as now."

"Tell her I don't take offense from her for that, and—that I understand," Robin told him, his voice coming off a bit distant. "I can't force anyone to be comfortable in a situation where they're not."

"She got that," Cyborg replied. "I'm gonna take this into the hall—Bee's on the other end now." He proceeded to walk towards the door, being careful to close it softly on his way out.

Beast Boy was still working on the rest of his candy bar. Raven ignored the gnawing noise coming from him as she concentrated her attention on the boy by the window. He seemed to be caught in his own little world, oblivious to everything else around him. She could sense the melancholy emanating from him as she continued to watch him. She could also sense from him a sense of guilt to go along with his sorrow.

For half that afternoon he didn't turn away from that window, and she didn't bother to interrupt him from his thoughts. For most of the rest of that afternoon everything was pretty quiet amongst the four teammates—for they all had their own inner thoughts to keep them occupied for a good portion of that time.

XoXoX

Night had set in; the hospital had quieted down for its _after hours._ The three guys had gone elsewhere for the night, leaving her alone for the night to catch some rest.

The heavy sound of the occasional wheeled cart passing by her room's door kept Raven from managing any sleep. Considering she'd been pretty much just laying in bed most of the afternoon, she hadn't burned much of her energy, leaving her a little restless.

She finally managed—after spending hours attempting it—to reach the borderline between drifting off and falling deep into slumber. It left her unaware enough to not notice someone slipping quietly through the door to her room and enter it. Nor did she notice when that same said presence took a seat in the chair beside her bed. It wasn't until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder did she even notice that she wasn't alone.

At the sense of it she jerked upwards, completely breaking herself off from her last vestiges of slumber and becoming alert rather quickly. She looked around rapidly to discover the source; at first suspecting it might be an unwanted intrusion—

"I am sorry to have disturbed you," the figure was in shadows, but the voice was recognizable. "I needed to come during a time when you would be alone—when it was possible he would not be here."

"Starfire?" Raven exclaimed, her mind still muddled with sleep. "What time is it—and when did you get in?"

"It is bordering midnight," Starfire replied. "I reached the city just an hour ago. I needed to see for myself that you are well—that you might not also be haunted by the darkness."

"Like I said in that communication with Cyborg—I'm fine," Raven replied reassuringly.

"I am thankful for that," Starfire replied.

There was a lingering silence between them that consumed within it many long moments. Raven couldn't tell what how Starfire was expressing herself outwardly because she was too deeply shadowed to see her face clearly enough, but she could sense from her the feelings of sorrow and regret she was easily giving off.

"Star—can you tell me what it was about Robin's _episode_ that made you decide to leave in the first place?" Raven broke the silence. She heard her friend stirring, as if she was startled. "I caught some of what you experienced in the shadow realm in dreams and visions—so I understand how all of that could've traumatized you. What I need to know though is, what was it in those visions that you saw—that I _didn't see_—that has you traumatized so much that you can't even bring yourself to confront Robin after what happened with him?" Raven was sure her questioning had struck a nerve—but she needed to know.

"It was...death." Starfire's face became visible, and Raven could see the glistening tears rolling down her cheeks. "I saw visions of a probable future where Robin met this fate because of the darkness, and after having to witness him struggle internally with the likes of a darkness ensued Slade—I cannot bring myself to stay and possibly witness such a fate. The pain I would endure if that were to ever become irreversible—I could not live with that."

Raven could see a flash of torture caught within Starfire's eyes as she spoke, knowing wholeheartedly that she understood the girl's reasoning—and sympathized with her because of it.

"I think I understand," Raven replied. " Although—I really wish I didn't have to."

"Raven, I must ask," Starfire said, looking at her directly and attentively. "What was it that you did for him that dispossessed him of the shadow that forced him to battle with you back in the realm of shadows?"

Raven was thankful for the shadows in the room just then; she was pretty sure her face had lit up a nice bright rosy hue—and she _really didn't want _Starfire to notice that fact just then. She managed to keep her expression neutral, so nothing was revealed—just yet.

"In order for me to force the shadow out…I had to first make contact with him," Raven just barely kept her voice from breaking. "The kind of contact I made with him…I kind of…had to—kiss him." Her eyes were averted and her voice lower on the last two words she spoke. "It's the only way I'm capable of controlling shadows that take possession of another person's body—at least, as far as I know."

"I believe it took more than just that gesture for you to be capable of releasing him from that burden," Starfire stated in a matter of fact sort of way. The response startled Raven enough to bring her eyes back up to stare at her. "I did not see the outcome of the battle where the shadow within Robin succumbed to you willing it away from him—but I did overhear something you spoke of before all sight of you both was consumed within the flames." She wiped her face clear, removing the traces of tear streams with one motion of a soft handkerchief she had with her. "I heard you desperately pleading with him, and—I also heard your claim that he is more than a friend, that…you love him."

Raven was completely struck speechless by Starfire's words. In an instant sense of shame, she looked downward, finding herself not able to make eye contact with her friend.

_I hope you won't hate me for this__—_the words echoed in her conscious as fresh as when she'd spoken them. _Back then—when I thought she might still be able to see the outcome of the one-on-one fight—I'd hoped she'd hear my apology to her—_

"I'm sorry," Raven said in a low tone. "I never meant to say it to possibly hurt you. I—I just…couldn't help saying something that I felt when I was in the position I was then. I…hope you won't hate me for saying that."

"No—I won't," Starfire said softly, reassuringly. "Raven—I must ask a favor of you." Raven set aside her shame and guilt and looked up at her perplexingly.

"You're asking me—for a favor?" Raven couldn't help but exclaim. "What—favor?"

"I need you to watch over Robin, since I no longer can," Starfire replied, her voice heavy with melancholy. "He might again someday be faced with a confrontation with the likes of Slade, and it might be you—and only you—who can keep him from losing the control. I know that you and he are close—and that you will find no difficulty in the task in which I ask of you."

"Are you certain about that?" Raven exclaimed. "Are you really going to walk away from everything—and never look back?"

"Raven—I haven't been given that as a option…to try and live as if things were like before. I cannot keep myself from looking upon him and finding myself reliving those visions where I see his death playing in front of my eyes. I could never live with those constantly haunting me upon seeing him. I just—could not." Starfire hid her face in the shadows, but Raven knew all too well she was hurting. "At least—I would know...if you were watching over him…that he would be safe."

"If that's what you want…I will watch over him, Starfire," Raven told her. "Is it okay—if he were ever able return the gesture—for me to be able to love him?"

"You have my permission—if it ever were to arise," Starfire replied. She got to her feet. "It is getting late, and—I am sure you are in need of rest still after the struggle you have been through."

"Are you staying in town a few days?" Raven reclined, looking at her with question. "Or were you just going to leave?"

"As of now—I am undecided," Starfire replied softly. "If I decide to stay for a few days longer—I will try to make contact and let you know. If I choose not to stay—I will try making a communication with you in the morning."

"Again—I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did because of me," Raven told her before she could make her way towards the door. Starfire looked particularly at her.

"As much as this has left a heavy burden upon my consciousness—I do not blame you for what happened," Starfire told her seriously. "I recall you once felt as if something horrible was going to occur—and you wished you knew how to prevent it. But—sometimes there are things we cannot prevent, things that we have no control over. Slade might have chosen you as the target for his exchange, but it was not your choice or your fault that we fell victim to his demands. You had spoken your warnings, but none of us took heed. Robin chose to ignore it, Beast Boy and Cyborg chose to pretend like it was not possible—and all I could do was make assurances and try to make light of the situation before it darkened. If anything—you would be the one least responsible for what occurred—considering you did amply warn us all beforehand of what was to come."

Raven caught a hint of a smile playing on her face, something that seemed out of place in her recently adopted solemn demeanor.

"I guess—I should stop feeling guilty then," Raven stated, to which Starfire nodded slightly.

"That would be a positive sentiment," Starfire said. "Before I leave, I really feel I should thank you for salvaging me before I could lose myself within the darkness. Even if the outcome was not so favored—I am more thankful for what you did for me then what I could have ended up becoming if I had succumbed to the darkness."

"Y—you're welcome," Raven stammered. Starfire reached the door, her hand reaching for the doorknob.

"Try and rest before morning," Starfire advised as she turned the knob and opened the door. "Sleep well, Raven."

The door closed almost silently behind her. Raven couldn't hear the sound of her friend's footsteps as she descended down the hallway—even though the rest of the hospital was calm and quiet enough for her to be able to.

She didn't ponder the absence of the sound too long; instead focusing on trying to gain some sleep before the sun rose the following morn.


	25. Elusion

Chapter 25: Elusion

It took Raven some time to adjust to being home after being away from it for so long. Although it had only been a couple weeks before that she had last stayed there—it was the first time in a long while with practically the whole team sharing the space with her again under one roof.

Beast Boy and Cyborg hadn't really changed all that much; it was Robin that she noticed had changed. His warm homecoming welcome for her had been short-lived; he not longer afterwards had adopted a tendency of being aloof around not just the other two—but also her. It was that which made it harder for Raven to adjust to life within the tower again.

It had been a month since her discharge and that stated _warm welcome_; in that time the two had hardly spoken a word to each other. She knew they all would need their time to adjust—problem was, how long would that take—

She had become used to him being so close with her, so worried about her safety and giving her reassurances that it felt so unreal that he was choosing to almost ignore her completely.

Starfire in the end had decided to immediately return to her residence with Titans East instead of staying in town. Raven hadn't bothered to mention Starfire's late evening visit to anyone; she felt it might stir up some troubling vibes to even bring it up around any of the three—especially Robin.

_Especially Robin—_

Raven sighed as she stood in the eerily silent common room. She could see mirrors of activity from the past playing in front of her like some spectral time-loop; those memories of happier times giving the atmosphere an ironically melancholic air to it.

_Nothing's ever going to be the same,_ she thought to herself. She sighed again. She knew Robin would take some time to work through his issues with Starfire's departure and all that surrounded it—they all would. _I just hope it won't take forever—_

She entered the dead silent kitchen, cautious to take any steps further upon the cold tile flooring. Each step she took slowly echoed horribly in a way she couldn't ever recall witnessing before. She reached for something from the refrigerator and quickly made her exit with it. As she took her findings with her to the deserted sectional, she closed her eyes and heavily sighed before taking a seat.

She sometimes had to wonder why he seemed to be avoiding her. Did he somewhere deep inside house some resentment towards her for all that had happened? She could hear his words of reassurance going through her mind, telling her that he didn't think she should believe that she was responsible for it—

The other two were coming out of their hiding—or _wherever _they'd been at before they'd bothered to come join her. The day was a casual one—nobody was expecting there to be any missions anytime that afternoon.

"I didn't realize this room was so—_quiet,"_ Beast Boy noted as he grabbed a controller for the game station and took it to the sectional. Realizing Raven was there, "Hey—how long have you been sitting there in this dead silence?"

"A little while," Raven replied.

"Well—this place needs the sound amped up a few notches and a good amount of livening up," Cyborg noted, one hand _armed _with the other player controller to the game station, the other hand armed with the remote for the new big screen.

"Have either one of you talked to Robin lately?" Raven asked the two as they got themselves situated to play their game. Cyborg shrugged.

"Not really," Beast Boy stated. "He's been kinda giving us the cold shoulder. It's probably not intentional—the dude's got a _lot _to deal with right now." He looked over at her. "What about you? Have you two talked at all?"

"I get the feeling he doesn't want to," Raven stated, looking ahead. "I feel like he's avoiding me on purpose, and—I guess…it's got me a little unnerved."

"Are you thinking he's got some resentments with ya?" Cyborg questioned her. "Over all that's happened?"

"A small part of me thinks so," Raven replied.

"Well, Rae—I can assure you that he doesn't," Cyborg assured her. "From what Bee's been relaying to me—he's been in talks with her about something. I'm not sure if it's been about Starfire's welfare or something else—but that's one of the things that's been consuming his time lately." He smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure eventually he'll come around again."

"Are there other reasons why you keep in contact with Bee that I don't know about?' Beast Boy questioned his friend in a toying manner. "Is there something going on between you two?"

"BB—don't read more into things than there really is," Cyborg stated disapprovingly. "Let's just get this game rolling before this silence gets to me."

For the first time in a long while, the common room was alight with the banter and noise that Raven had gotten fairly used to—that had been absent for way too long.

XoXoX

The sun was escaping in the distance on the far off horizon. It peeked out from the borderline where the water of the ocean met the sky, readying itself for its slumber as it slipped from the fiery-lit sky.

Raven found herself resting on the ledge of the roof, solemnly watching the sun make its departure. She was alone; nobody seemed to know she was up there.

Waves crashed on the shore below, the city across the water still bustling with activity in its primetime. The sounds seemed so close yet so far. _So far_—

As night set in, the shadows grew to compensate for where the light was becoming absent. There was nothing abnormal about these shadows though; they were just the natural phenomena that she had always been accustomed to.

The sun had completely blotted itself from the sky—the shadows taking over the surroundings all around her. She stood there; calmly letting them take their places around her. A noise she wasn't expecting caught her attention—making her raise her guard.

_Don't tell me I let my guard down too much, and that there's actually something malevolent out there in the shadows—_

She readied herself for that possibility. She drew in a wealth of dark energy around her clenched fists, ready to make a strike if the moment arose. She cautiously turned away from the ledge, her nerves tensed and heart racing.

She saw movement in the shadows. She clenched her fists and her teeth tighter in anger. The presence with no apparent form continued to prod on, the sound of eerie footfalls bringing her to the level of activating her powers where her eyes were alight an incandescent white.

"_Whatever_ just happens to be out there—if you're intent on causing me trouble—" She grated as the shadowy presence continued approaching her. It was when it reached a distance of just five feet from where she stood did she get a shock. She relaxed her fists and the energy surrounding them as the anger slipped away—her eyes widening in astonishment. "Robin?"

"Did my presence startle you that much?" He asked her perplexingly.

"Yeah—it did," Raven admitted. She let herself relax. "What are you doing up here? I kind of got the sense that you were giving me the cold shoulder."

"I was?" Robin exclaimed. "I've been caught up with so much on my mind lately, I guess…I just seemed to be oblivious of everyone that was in my presence." He joined her by the ledge, looking out at the night-illuminated waters of the bay. "Rae—I wasn't intentionally ignoring you. Cy mentioned to me that you felt that way, and—I guess I wanted to clear that up. With Star's absence, and a bit of a gap on the team from where she used to be—I've been trying to fill that gap in all the different ways I've needed to." He looked at her. "First off, with Bee's help—I've been trying to talk Jinx into filling Star's old spot on the team. It's been tough trying to convince her to, but—she finally agreed to just a little while ago."

"So—Jinx is going be part of the team then?" Raven asked him. He nodded. "Are you going to be okay with this?"

"Star's pretty adamant that she's not coming back," Robin stated on a regrettable note. "We've all got to move on—and this team feels incomplete with just _four_ people on it."

"Robin—I'm sorry that Star left," Raven told him. She looked away towards the sea. "I don't mind it if you ever _do_ blame me for what happened with her. I—I just—"

"Raven—I really wish you wouldn't put the blame on_ yourself for all of this!"_ Robin's exclamation wasn't what caught her off guard; it was the fact that he'd placed his hands on her shoulders that was. He was watching her, standing face to face with her, expression matching up with the exclamation. "I _don't blame you!_ If anything—_I blame myself."_ His head sunk as he lowered his gaze from hers, a sense of guilt evident in his actions. "If I had listened to you_ that night_ before I left—I could've prevented all this. It was my acts of stupidity that got you hurt, the other three abducted—and Star permanently scarred mentally. That wasn't your fault—it was _mine_."

"Robin, even if you had ignored that call—Slade would have pursued us until he got his way," Raven reminded him. "Bruce still would have been hurt—and who knows where we all would be now. The outcome could have been worse—some of us could have even ended up dead."

"Bruce—" Robin hadn't focused fully on that in a while. "He could've ended up dead. Slade wouldn't have had any trouble with that concept. It was because of our fast thinking and your healing touch that he even survived that." That thought he found suddenly encouraging. "Yeah, Rae—I guess the outcome could have been worse. If I'd ignored that call—Bruce's casualty would have just been one of many possibilities—or probabilities."

"I guess—no matter how many different ways you look at it…the situation was inevitable—and we should stop trying to find places to lay blame," Raven said. He looked up, nodding. He released his hands from her shoulders and resumed his place looking over the water.

They let a moment of silence fall in as they watched the star-lit tide move in. The moon was but a sliver above, appearing as if it was the Cheshire cat grinning slyly down on them. She seemed content to watch the tides come in, but his nerves were at that moment a little jumbled.

He turned his attention towards her, watching her instead of the shifting tides. He'd had another reason why he'd come up there looking for her—but he was having a hard time bringing himself to bring it up with her.

"Raven—there's something I've been meaning to speak to you about that I also came up here to discuss with you." Raven turned her attention towards Robin abruptly when she heard him speak.

"What did you need to speak to me about?" Raven asked.

Before he spoke, he noticed her standing at an angle to face him directly. He spied her hands in the darkness, and catching her unawares when he reached for them. When he had taken them in his he looked up to her eyes.

Her somewhat surprised amethyst eyes—

"You once asked me to give you an answer to something when everything was over, and I—" Robin got cut off by the acknowledgment of another's presence; somebody had snuck up on them in the shadows—albeit unintentionally.

"I've been looking all over for y'all," Cyborg claimed, his presence glaringly obvious now amongst the shadows of the night. "I needed to let ya know our new recruit just arrived. She's waiting for us all to come along and make her feel welcome for her first night."

"I didn't think Jinx was going to show up for another day or so," Robin stated. "Did she give a reason why she arrived earlier than planned?"

"Not a thing, man," Cyborg replied. He looked out on the bay, smiling heartily. "Sure's looking to be a beautiful night, wouldn't ya say?"

"Yeah—it is," Robin agreed. "So—is she waiting for us right now?"

"Yeah—and she's not being too patient with it either," Cyborg stated, adding with a cringe. "I don't want to deal with her in a bad mood—especially if it meant her bringing the tower down with a few of her hexes. I'm not looking forward to trying to rebuild this place again from scratch."

"I don't think I could tolerate being temporarily homeless because of something she did," Raven said. "Can you give us a moment? Tell them will be there shortly."

"I'll grant y'all a moment," Cyborg said. "But don't take your time—or that little prospect _could_ become a reality we don't want to live with." He cringed once more before he turned to leave. When he was gone, Raven turned her gaze towards Robin.

"Would what you were going to say only take a moment to say it to me?" Raven asked him, realizing her hands were still clasped in his.

"It would probably take more than that," Robin told her. "I can catch you later and tell you then. Let's get this Jinx thing done first—we can worry about what I was going to say later."

"Okay," Raven replied. She began to progress towards the exit off the roof; she noticed he still hadn't released one of her hands as she made the trip. He all the while hadn't slowed her down, keeping pace with her. For a moment she halted. "Uh—" She felt like she had something to say, but the words wouldn't give. He looked at her weirdly.

"Rae—is there something on your mind?" Robin inquired curiously. She shook her head no.

"It was…it's nothing." Raven turned her attention towards the roof exit—not saying another thing along the trip.

XoXoX

The common room was brightly lit as the two made their entry. The entertainment system was up and running, the speakers blasting some rhythmic tunes throughout the whole room. Waiting while lounging across the black sectional was the newest recruit along with the other two familiar presences—Cyborg and Beast Boy. A fourth unexpected soul had joined in the party—apparently a guest of the new recruit's.

"Hey—you guys like sugar donuts?" Jinx noticed that the last members had joined the _crew meeting_. She met up with them, holding up a bag of bakery goods. "Cuz I brought a few bags with me when I came in."

"I guess…I'll have one," Raven told her, hesitating to reach into the bag as Jinx held it up.

"How about you—oh mighty leader?" Jinx asked Robin.

"I wouldn't mind having one of those," Robin replied. He took one more quickly than Raven had.

"So—I have a bit of a proclamation for you all," Jinx said as they all gravitated towards the center of the room. "I've been meaning to bring up one condition I'd like met if I'm going to become part of this team. It's not gonna alter the way you guys play your goofy games all day, affect your grocery lists, or change any of you living habits. All I ask is that you hear me out when I say I want you to consider bringing him aboard too." Jinx pointed one of her long slender fingers towards that unexpected fourth _guest._ The guest stood up as if in acknowledgement of the fact that he was being indicated. "So—what do you guys think? Would it be cool if Kid Flash became a team player as well?"

"I'd have no problem with that," Cyborg stated, shrugging.

"Can he play a mean game on the game station?" Beast Boy asked curiously.

"My extra speed makes me a whiz at button operated play," Kid Flash claimed proudly. "Just you wait—I'll make for a formidable opponent."

"Cool," Beast Boy said. "He can stay."

"How about you—oh mighty leader and_ mistress of darkness_?" Jinx asked teasingly.

"I don't have any problem—as long as you don't call me _mistress of darkness_ ever again," Raven advised her.

"He can stay—it's fine with me," Robin replied, smiling. "Should we start the inductions by picking up a couple take out pizzas?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Cyborg agreed. "If y'all will call it in, I can make the trip to pick them up." He switched the CD player off and put the TV on. "Y'all know what I want. Ya can all debate what'cha want."

"You're the one who's a strict veggie guy, right?" Jinx asked Beast Boy. He nodded. "Be careful not to preach that mumbo jumbo to me—especially when it comes to pizza. I want my pizza to be the real deal—got it?"

"Okay, sure—got it," Beast Boy stated. "I'm _not_ gonna give you pressure."

"So—we'll order three pizzas," Robin stated. "One's for Beast Boy's veggie lovers. Cy gets his Meat Lovers, and the third will be optional. So—any ideas for the third's toppings?"

"Mushrooms," Jinx said.

"Onions and olives," Kid Flash chimed in.

"I'm going to voice my additions of sausage and Canadian bacon. Anybody object to that?" Robin asked. He got no objections. He turned his attention to Raven. "Anything you want to add?"

"I'm fine with what's on it," Raven replied. "Maybe add pepperoni—and I'm set."

"I'll go put in the order," Robin said. To Cyborg, "I'll give you the time frame when the order's been put in."

"Sounds good," Cyborg replied. He was absorbed in some television program playing on the big screen. Raven looked at the screen for a moment, rolling her eyes when she noted it was a program she didn't have one ounce of interest for.

Robin left the room to get the order in, while the rest of the party got drawn into the program Cyborg had flipped to on the big screen. Raven separated from the group, waiting for when Robin would return.


	26. Possession

Chapter 26: Possession

They didn't get around to meeting up anytime that night; Jinx's induction celebration had meant a movie marathon that had lasted through most of the night into the early morning. By that time everyone was tired and the _party_ declared over, and they were all ready to head in for the night.

As she was getting herself ready for the night, Raven couldn't help but wonder what Robin had wanted to speak to her about.

_It could be anything from something as ordinary as looking for ways to keep Slade from gaining control of him—to possibly something more personal. _ She couldn't help recalling how he'd taken her hands in his as he was beginning to speak with her. How he'd continued to hold onto at least one of her hands as they made their departure from the roof—

_Why did he hold my hands like that—_

She stifled a yawn as she finished with her evening ritual. Her mind was clouded with sleep—and it was time to catch some. It didn't take her long to accomplish that; as she drew the sheets around and rested her head upon the pillow, she comfortably eased into a deep slumber.

XoXoX

The next morning, while Raven was getting her usual breakfast prepared, Jinx made her entry.

Apparently energized from a decent night's sleep and in as good of a mood as she could be in, Jinx searched out the refrigerator for something to suit her needs. After standing there a few minutes searching the furthest reaches for_ something—_she took out a carton of milk and closed the refrigerator door.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to tweak the grocery list a little after all," Jinx remarked. Raven wasn't sure if she was aiming that comment towards her to hear it out, or if Jinx was talking to herself. "Did you know there's some kind of sick _fungal garden_ growing in there?" She looked at Raven, obviously aiming that exclamation at her.

"That was Star's," Raven replied. "It wasn't my idea."

"Well—that _thing's_ going, and this fridge is getting an overhaul." Jinx dug through the cupboards for something to go with the milk. "At least the cereal boxes are in order—and they're not all expired." She found the brand she wanted, taking that, after closing the cupboard door from which it came, and the milk to the counter while she retrieved a bowl. She poured the contents of the box into the bowl, a mixed blend of oat clusters, almonds, raisins, and bran flakes half filling it. She set aside the box and poured on the milk.

"Sure seems different after escaping that dark void—doesn't it?" Jinx asked her as she brought her bowl of cereal to the table with her. "I mean—seeing this place after it was trashed, and then reconstructed—_and then_ after you all get resituated, minus one—doesn't it seem like a completely different setting than before?"

"It _is _different," Raven replied. She'd finished getting her breakfast arranged, and brought it to the table with her. "Starfire isn't here, Robin's changed somewhat—and think so have I."

"I've been meaning to ask about a couple of things," Jinx said. "First—I was given a shock somewhere in the night by this mutated bug larvae thing, and I need to know where the _hell _that thing came from. I wasn't too pleased to see that ugly thing trying to coo in my face when I _was trying to sleep._"

"That's Starfire's pet Silkie," Raven explained. "An experimental mutant moth larvae that Beast Boy gave her some time back."

"Well—that thing's going back to it's owner," Jinx said, cringing at the thought of Silkie. "I don't tolerate creepy mutant bugs trying to cuddle up with me when I'm _trying to sleep_."

"I'll see about having him brought over to Titans East," Raven replied. "So—what was the other thing you were going to ask about?"

"I forgot to return this to you," Jinx got out the old handwritten novel she'd uncovered while she'd been exploring Raven's room unauthorized. "I figured you'd have more uses for it then I would. It was a good read—but it needs to go back to you." She pushed it across the table to her. "I managed to get the loose page reinserted. I hope the fact that it fell out won't depreciate its value to you."

"It won't," Raven told her. "Thanks—I'll have to shelf this for future reference, in case I'll ever need it."

"What makes you think it might be needed again?" Jinx exclaimed.

"There's a chance Robin could end up affected by shadow possessions again—and this might come to be useful when that does happen." Raven's expression became solemn, her eyes a bit distant. "That was one of the reasons why Starfire left—she witnessed Robin during one of these failed possessions. She couldn't handle the prospect of it ever happening in front of her again." She looked at Jinx. "Didn't anyone tell you that was why Starfire left—and you were asked to fill her place?"

"Nobody bothered to breathe a word of that to me," Jinx replied. "I figured she couldn't handle the fact that her room had been the portal to evil; I never even guessed it had something to do with a nearly possessed leader."

"Knowing that fact—does it bug you?" Raven asked her. Jinx shrugged.

"I don't think I have to fear the almighty team leader turning evil and then going on some kind of rampage," Jinx stated. "I figure you'd have a way to prevent that from happening—so I'm not gonna let that get to me." She became more serious. "If you don't mind my asking—how _did _he end susceptible to these shadowy possessions? Why him—and not another member of the team, or yourself?"

"While we were in Gotham, he was attacked, and—as a result—was marked," Raven replied. "Since then, he's been an easy target for possession by the _shadow beings_—and for Slade."

"Almost sounds like he's been cursed," Jinx said, adding sympathetically, "It's too bad I can't undo curses—I can only dish them out."

"I'm going to try and do that myself," Raven replied. "Starfire seems to think I can do it—and…I think I should be able to."

"Does it have something to do with the fact that you can manipulate and control shadows?" Jinx asked her. Raven nodded. Jinx nodded as well. "Well—I wish you luck with that then."

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Raven went back to concentrating on her breakfast, as did Jinx.

XoXoX

The rest of the team didn't awake until a little after the two girls had finished up with breakfast. When they all started to emerge, the two were chatting on the sectional.

"Been up for a while?" Beast Boy commented as he entered the room. He looked particularly at the two girls. "Uh—are you two actually chatting with each other?"

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?" Jinx looked at him peculiarly. He cowered a bit and grinned sheepishly.

"No—not at all," Beast Boy replied nervously. "It's just…I'm so used to Raven caught up in a book or something—not a conversation."

"Apparently we have a few things in common that we can talk about," Jinx stated. "Besides—we were just discussing what it's like living in this tower. Apparently, you're all an _interesting_ bunch—and I needed to get the lowdown of what its like if I'm going to live here too."

"I guess that makes sense," Beast Boy replied, sounding a little uncertain. "Heh—I'm just gonna get something to eat, I'm starving."

"Hey—have you seen Robin and Cyborg stirring around yet?" Raven asked him before he could get far.

"Robin's up practicing in the weight room, and Cyborg's doing some tower maintenance," Beast Boy stated. "Cy should be down soon. If you need to see Robin—you're gonna have to go up and see him yourself. I think he's going to be up there training for a while."

"I'm going to go seek out Kid Flash," Jinx said. "If there's anything interesting you need to mention to me later—we can get to it then," she told Raven. She then headed out from the room with no set destination.

"I'm going to seek out Robin," Raven told Beast Boy. "_If_ you end up needing to look for me—_I'll_ be up there."

"Go ahead—have fun," Beast Boy told her, absently digging around for something to eat. Raven took that as a cue to leave while he was occupied.

XoXoX

Sweat accumulated on his brow, one punch following up another. He swung his fist too harshly into the bag; it leaped far backwards and did a pivotal turn—striking back towards him. He effortlessly moved out of the way—already calculating its trajectory course as it came back at him. He got it back into its previous rhythm—putting its comeback course back into an evened out return.

The sounds of his fist striking it jarred all other noise outside that to be acknowledged; partially his focus and attention on his maneuvers blocked all others from his comprehension. His training required focus—and that's what he always imputed into it.

_A very heavy amount of focus—_

He was so focused—_too focused._ So much so his awareness didn't acknowledge the overhead lights flickering in an unnaturally—didn't notice there was even an intrusion until he was practically _physically _forced to.His stance became abruptly rigid—he didn't seem to have any function in any of his limbs. To his own frustration he stood, immobile—frozen in place.

"Why can't I seem to—" he struggled exhaustively to swing his arms or budge his legs, with no effect.

When his arms moved and his legs adjusted themselves under his weight, it wasn't because of him. He let an utterance in pure astonishment.

"What in hell is going on with my—" involuntarily his words halted, his tongue kept from speaking any further on its own accord. The unexpected physical _paralysis_ overran his mind caught in overdrive.

"You should know by know I'd return eventually." It was his own voice—the words formed by his own mouth. But they weren't words he had recalled forming to speak himself.

_What is going on here—_

"You mean to say you don't _recall_ the last time we struggled against each other for control over you?" His own voice spoke against his own accord. It had come out in a tone that wasn't of his invention—a mocking, strangely musing tone. "I would think you'd especially remember that occasion—considering it threw that one teammate of yours over the edge."

_Slade._ Robin could feel the fury boiling over within his consciousness. He fought with his will to regain control over Slade. "Because of you—Starfire can't even bear to see my face because memories it brings up frighten her too much. I have you to thank for her even having to live with those memories to begin with."

"She was inevitably going to see what she saw—whether she saw them while with me or from elsewhere," Slade borrowed his vocals yet again. Robin took control back.

"How can you even say that!" Robin snapped harshly. "For all we know—it was _your influence and yours alone_ that drove her to be mentally scarred in the first place! If it weren't for you—she probably wouldn't _even be_ dealing with this baggage now!"

"You were the one who insisted on checking in on a call that left you team vulnerable, Robin," Slade taunted him with his own voice. "It was you negligence that left Starfire vulnerable to abduction—Raven to the injuries she received—as well the effect it left on the rest of the team—"

"Slade, how _dare you_ speak about what you did to Star and Raven—while_ using my voice_!" Robin snapped. "You know what you are, Slade? A monster! Always was and always will be. I will never allow myself to ever become—" The words ceased, his ability to control the very words he spoke ceasing. Try though he might—he couldn't seemed to regain control of that function. Against his control—a sly grin emerged.

"Words can be rewarding and useful in their own respect, but it will always be action in the end that clearly wins." It infuriated Robin that his own voice would be used to mock him; it infuriated him even more that Slade was getting the upper hand.

"It looks like you're losing," His stolen voice mused. "I'm actually disappointed. I was expecting a little bit more of a struggle then that."

He mentally felt like he was fading out—losing his control to the villain he'd always been determined to dominate at any cost. Haplessly he felt like he was losing—that Slade would win—

His last action he could remember being his own was the willing spillage of tears from his tightly clenched eyelids. He struggled with the invading force to keep them shut. A battle he was slowly losing—

XoXoX

She heard his voice from the hall. Alerted and startled by it—Raven had hastened her steps forward to investigate it.

She pushed the door to the weight room open—hearing him hold a conversation with himself. Robin's voice changed drastically with each end change in the conversation; at one end he sounded desperate, at the other—it came out sounding taunting—goading—

She realized what the situation was—what Robin was struggling with. One line involving her name in particular that he said confirmed _whom _he was struggling with.

_Slade's trying to possess him—_

She didn't hesitate in rushing over to him. Whether he recalled her being there—or if Slade's _presence _did for that matter—it didn't show. By the time she'd reached him, most of his struggles were being made inwardly. When she removed his mask and noticed his eyelids twitching—as if struggling to remain shut—she was able to confirm that thought.

She was startled to see tears spill from his clenched eyes and run down his face. In concern, she used her fingers to gently brush them away.

"I won't allow him to win," she assured him in a soft voice. "So you really don't _need_ to cry."

_Please don't tell me I'm too late—_

She hesitated; tears formed in her own eyes just as he seemed to be losing the inward battle.

_No—_

She couldn't just stand there and watch as he lost control of himself to their foe. Hoping she could still salvage him from the darkness she reached her hands up to the sides of his face, bringing herself to him until she made contact mouth to mouth.

She couldn't sense if there were any changes happening within him; he stood rigid and stiff—like a soul still possessed. She couldn't recall how long it took to get a reaction last time; she wasn't sure if she even _would—_

She got the slightest sense of his rigid stance loosening up as she kept her grip on him. She didn't open her eyes to observe him—but she heard what she thought was him shifting one of his feet to a different angle. It wasn't until she felt his hands rest on her waist did she realize he was coming out of that possessive trance.

Thinking that he would eventually try to gently pull away from her, she was shocked when he tightened his grip on her waist and brought her closer. When he eventually _did_ pull away from her—it was obviously to catch his breath.

"Thank you, Rae," Robin said to her, his voice a little hoarse. "I didn't think I'd recover that time. That was good timing."

"You're welcome," Raven replied softly. "Um…was there a reason why you held onto me more tightly partway into that?"

"Would it be okay to say that I wanted to?" Robin stated. She again found herself staring into eyes that were usually hidden—bright blue eyes she wished she'd seen more often—"That maybe—I wanted to do that up on the roof last night, before we were interrupted?"

"W-was that the reason why you took my hands in yours? You were eventually—going to kiss me?" Raven asked him, shocked as she thought about what she'd just said.

"If Cy hadn't interrupted us—if Jinx hadn't have shown up when she did…I would've also eventually gotten around to telling you what I meant to say last night," Robin said. "Besides all this turmoil I've been dealing with—I've been thinking over what you asked me back in that realm of darkness. I wanted to let you know I'd made up my decision last night—but I didn't get my chance." He repeated the gesture he'd made last night—taking her hands up in his, and looking her in the eye directly. He could feel the accumulation of sweat increasing on his brow—too fresh to be from his workout or his mental struggles for control over himself. He'd been nervous the evening before; he recalled that as he found his eyes firmly fixated with hers.

_Just say the words already—she's watching you very closely, and she's sure to notice the fact that you're nervous—say it before she can point it out—_

"So—what were you going to say to me?" Raven's fixated eyes spoke her curiosity. A moment later they were showing him shock when his hands unexpectedly dropped hers and reached for something elsewhere. He surprised himself with his own move; the moment had quickly blurred from him acknowledging his hands holding hers to the next where they were cradling her chin.

"Rae—" _Why can't I just bring myself to say this?_ "We've been friends for a long time—you've had my back many times when I needed it, and I've also had yours. To return and find you in as bad a shape as I did—where I wasn't even sure if you'd survive or not…I was deeply affected by that; I couldn't keep myself from running that thought over in my head constantly. And over the course of our trip—you kept trying to keep my hopes up even as I lost hope of finding my mentor _alive_…and then when we _did _find him…" Robin closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hold back any tears that might attempt to spill forth. "_You_ of course had the _touch_ that would save him—words that almost came straight from the doctor himself." He looked at her and laughed suddenly. "For whatever your past might've burdened you with—you have _the healing touch._ Hell—you've even healed me—and will probably continue to heal me." He drew her into an embrace that quite surprised her—enough to make her knees buckle under her weight.

They both tumbled instantly to the mats below their feet—with her landing on her back and him just able to keep himself from landing on top of her by supporting himself with his arms.

He hovered over her, looking down as he had her unintentionally pinned down below him. She didn't move; She only looked back up at him, breathing hardly.

"If I surprised you, Rae—I apologize," Robin said as he watched her. She still looked shocked, but she didn't look back at him irritably. Slowly, a smile formed on her face.

"You don't have to apologize," Raven told him. "Uh—so…was that what you were going to say to me then?"

"I didn't really get to the main part of what I meant to say," Robin told her. She gazed back at him, remaining still as he hovered above her. "What I really wanted to add was that I really care about you."

"_Really care—_huh?" Raven remarked. "Then—why are you acting so nervous?" She gazed up at him with critical eyes.

"I guess…what I really mean is—" Robin hesitated, leaning in a little closer to her. She suddenly seemed to hold her breath as he lessened the distance between them. "Rae…what I really think is I...I…might—love you."

She said not a word—obviously speechless. Her amethyst eyes were slightly widened, as they remained fixated with his. He slowly leaned in closer—those wide amethyst eyes unconsciously closing as the gap narrowed. By the time he'd come in contact with her she wasn't watching him—only feeling the connection physically.

She felt out where the sides of his face were as she brought up her hands. She cradled the sides of his head in her hands while keeping her back comfortably supported on the mat beneath her. She felt time melt away slowly until he chose to pull himself away from her. When she acknowledged that fact—she was looking up at him, unable to speak a word. His eyes were trained on hers, an unexpected affection expressed within their vivid hue.

"You're one of the most important people in my life," Robin told her, still holding himself propped above her with his arms. She remained lying still where she was; content enough with her current position. "Over time…I've come to realize that—other than Star—you've been someone I've been able to rely on, get deeper advice from, and has seen a side of me very few others have. Like she did—you understand me from a perspective few others do."

"You don't ever wish that I was Starfire though—do you?" Raven asked him curiously. "Because—you know I could never be like her."

"No," Robin replied softly. "I know you can't be—I'd never expect you to be like her."

"I appreciate that at least." Raven brought her hands up, resting them again on the sides of his face. She watched him, smiling contently. He was just about to lean in to kiss her again when the sound of the door being pushed open and a set of footsteps interrupted him.

"I wasn't expecting y'all to be…uh—making out up here," Cyborg noted as the two scrambled to get themselves in more presentable positions. "Especially considering that the other day she thought _you _were the one giving her the _cold shoulder_."

In the scramble Robin kept his face obscured from view of Cyborg in the doorway, with Raven being helpful by placing herself in the way. He quickly searched around for that one missing ensemble piece.

"_Try looking under my right palm,_" Raven told him under her breath. "_You'll find what you're looking for there_."

"Are ya hiding something?" Cyborg asked them, amusement obvious in his voice.

"No—what makes you think that?" Raven exclaimed.

"Cuz—the great Boy Wonder seems to be hiding behind ya, and it kinda hints at something like that," Cyborg noted. "I should've known something's up after seeing the two of ya last night holding hands and looking like you were making confessions to each other. " His amused expression became serious. "So—did you two begin making this kind of connection while the rest of us were trapped in that void? I'm not sure I'd approve of that sort of thing—especially with how Star was effected by all that void stuff."

"No Cy—we were too busy looking for a way to save you guys and find out what happened to my mentor to even think about that," Robin replied, perturbed. "We both put you guys' recovery above any possibility of a romance between us—it didn't even come up as being possible until everything else had been said and done." He'd replaced the mask while his back was turned away from him. He turned and stood to face his questioning teammate. "You guys should know by now that I put the sake of the team and those I care about above almost everything else."

"Yeah, man—most of the time you do—but I do recall a few times in the past where your persistence on something else has dominated over the importance of even that," Cyborg reminded him tartly. "_Especially_ if the circumstances somehow involved Slade. When it comes down to it—you've always been more obsessed with figuring Slade out then anything else."

"On most—if _not all of those occasions_—didn't I in the end put all of you guys first when it came to my mission to figure Slade out?" Robin retorted, his anger rising. "You, BB, Star—Rae? Did I ever let it get to the point where you were all doomed at his hands—because of me? Or do you _at all _recall that I fought for your sake in the end?"

"Maybe I do—maybe I don't," Cyborg remarked derisively. "It's not really _me or BB_ I'm all that concerned with in this—we don't matter quite as much as someone else that's had me worried this whole time. The one I'm really getting infuriated for is Star."

"You don't think I haven't been burdened down by thoughts of what kind of turmoil she's been going through?" Robin snapped, his voice cracking. "How can I even try to reconcile anything when she can't bear to even see my face? I can't keep letting that eat me up inside—and I can't force her to do anything she's not comfortable with!" He sunk to his knees, looking down towards the floor. "If you had actually_ witnessed_ her reaction while I was being possessed _right in front of her_—you might understand a little better." He looked up at Cyborg, anger mixed with anguish in his expression. "Starfire looked _absolutely terrified—_ like she saw death itself or something on that level. I have _never_ seen her so frightened in my life!"

"Yo, man—she couldn't really have seen death when she saw you possessed," Cyborg remarked skeptically. "She was probably just so shocked by you being—"

"_STOP!_" Raven cried, interrupting their argument. "You _really don't_ need to fight like this!"

"Rae—" Cyborg uttered before she interrupted him.

"Do either of you _really know_ what Starfire went through in all this—what continues to haunt her about it even now?" Raven continued. She stood up. "If anyone understands what she's going through—it would be me." She sighed a bit mournfully as she turned her attention directly towards Cyborg. "Robin wasn't really exaggerating when he described Star's reaction as looking like she saw death itself before her. She _told_ me_ personally_ that was _exactly_ what she saw on that day. She couldn't bear to see his face because she couldn't bear to see his death relived in front of her eyes over and over. It agonized her—and it would've brought her more agony if she actually _witnessed_ it happening right in front of her—especially if it were in any way influenced by Slade himself."

"Rae—when did Star confront you on this?" Robin asked her. She turned to him, her expression solemn.

"Later in the evening of the day I woke up in the hospital," Raven reminded him—both of them. "She stopped in at around midnight to pay me a visit when she knew I would be alone. She needed to speak with me about a few things— Robin's_ possessive episode_, reassuring herself that I wasn't also affected by the shadows…as well as asking me if I'd watch over Robin for her. She—knew I was capable of dispossessing him of them if the moment ever arose—that I was probably the only one capable of doing so. She…also overheard me say something to him while I was making my desperate pleas to him during his possession with that _shadow being_ back in the void. That…I love him." Cyborg's eyes went wide—so did Robin's. "If you need to know that she wasn't angry with me about that—trying confirming it with her directly. I'm sure she'll vouch for what I just told you."

"I'm gonna have to ring Bee up and get that confirmed with Star," Cyborg stated. He looked at Raven directly. "It's not that I don't believe you—I just need to hear this from her myself."

"So…Starfire told you—to watch over me?" Robin asked her.

"Yes, she asked me to watch over you—as a favor to her," Raven replied softly. "She still cares very deeply for you, but—she acknowledges that it's no longer possible for her to be able to be here and love you both at the same time. She thinks—I'll be able to keep you safe."

"I don't know if either of ya noticed the lights flickering a little earlier—but I've been meaning to ask y'all about it, if you know anything about it," Cyborg spoke up. "If y'all were wondering—that's what I really came up here to investigate."

"I didn't really notice it," Robin admitted. "I was concentrating too much on my practice rounds with the punching bag to notice it—and then I was too occupied dealing with Slade trying to possess me again to even be able to concentrate on something like the lighting."

"I recall seeing the hall lights flicker as I was making my way up here," Raven noted. "It eerily coincided with the timing I discovered Robin was struggling with Slade trying to possess him."

"Sounds like our archenemy's presence sends up warning signals before he shows his ugly self," Cyborg commented. "I guess I'll know that for next time, so I won't suspect that the tower's power source might be malfunctioning—after all its been through recently."

"So Cy…do you still feel the need to argue something out with me—or have we managed to get everything worked out?" Robin questioned him particularly, tensed and ready to put up an argument if the need should rise. Cyborg's reassuring grin allowed him to relax.

"Nah, man—I think I'm all argued out," Cyborg replied. "Raven managed to be the voice of reason that kinda took the point of arguing out of the picture."

"That's a good thing," Raven remarked.

"There is something I do wonder about," Cyborg stated, looking at the two of them. "When did you two start deciding that ya had feelings for one another on this kinda level? Besides that little instance from last night—I never really noticed any signs that you two were even more than just friends."

Raven turned her gaze over towards Robin—wondering _just when_ it was that she started realizing that he was becoming more than just a friend in her eyes. She'd always held him in higher regard over most others—but when had it gone from being more than even that, she _had_ to wonder—

_Rae—I have a lot of faith in you—_words he'd spoken to her, from what seemed like such a long time ago—in a tone spoken in reassurance. She could recall him turning his gaze to her—just before he'd revved the engine of his R-Cycle—taking the moment to tell her that so she knew he didn't think she should worry herself over that entry in that one book.

_I have a lot of faith in you. Never forget that, okay?_ She continued to watch him, a faint smile emerging on her face as she thought about that. _Robin, don't worry—I won't forget._ She didn't recall if that was the moment she started to inwardly realize that she cared more about him than she ever had warranted herself to before or if was just a random occurrence that just happened to come to mind; even if it wasn't—its was definitely a pivotal moment in her coming to the realization.

"I think it might be a little too hard for me to determine _exactly_ when it was that things started to head towards that direction when it comes to my feelings for him," Raven stated. "All I can say is that its not something that just—_happened overnight_." Her gaze remained on Robin, not bothering to look directly at Cyborg as she spoke. In her mind, as she'd spoken—she'd wondered to herself if he _even knew _when he himself had come to that sort of realization—if he even _had_ one of those moments. With her eyes all the time remaining on him as she spoke and thought over things—she wondered if he was recalling some moment like she just had—

"I'd have to say that I would state the same as Rae on this," Robin added in his answer. "Its—like she stated…something that didn't occur overnight."

"I guess I'm just gonna have to be content with that," Cyborg conceded. "So, ah—I've still got a lot of maintenance left yet to check in with, so…if y'all are intent on using this space for what its intended for—or if y'all continue with what'cha both were up to when I barged in…I guess I'll leave ya to that." He looked at them awkwardly—frozen up for a moment, before he bothered to depart.

As the doors swung behind where Cyborg had made his exit, the two exchanged looks—not certain which suggestion he'd made they should act upon.


	27. On the Mend

Chapter 27: On The Mend

Raven was overlooking the water of the bay from the roof, contemplating over a conversation from several months earlier that she'd held with Cyborg.

_Star confirmed what 'ya told me about when I contacted her at Titans East,_ Cyborg had informed Raven later that day. _She stated that what 'ya said—word for word—was exactly what had happened, what she said. I guess I can get off yours and Rob's backs about what happened earlier, and what I got so angry about during it. She already seems to be aware of the sitch between y'all—and surprisingly doesn't seem that bothered by it._ As he'd spoken he'd shrugged his shoulders.

_Did you tell her about Robin having another episode?_ Raven had asked him, a little bit hesitant to hear what kind of response she'd get from him if the answer were _yes_.

A span of several months had managed to pass by in the matter of the quickness of a heartbeat; since that conversation the seasons had transitioned from late winter to later summer, early fall. So much had changed since then, she realized—the permanence of Starfire's absence, the addition of Jinx and Kid Flash to fill in where Starfire was absent—the fact that Robin had not only become susceptible to possession by their archenemy—but also had to make frequent trips to Gotham to fill in for his mentor until the Dark Knight was fully healed once again—

_I informed her about it,_ Cyborg truthfully informed her. _She blanched a tad—but got some consolation from it when I informed her that you managed to successfully reverse the effects._

_Did she ask you about __**how**__ I managed to dispossess him? _Raven had bothered to ask. He'd grinned in response to her inquiry.

_I got the sense that Star didn't need me to tell her—that she already somehow knew without me having to tell her about it,_ Cyborg had replied.

_It wasn't long after she made her departure final that Robin took on his responsibilities in Gotham, _Raven noted as she watched the waters of the tides churn. She sighed as she thought about that. _If it hadn't been enough that he had to deal with Star's departure—now he has to deal with the double responsibility of running operations in two metropolises_. She sighed again, recalling the past few months—the struggles they'd all endured in the aftermath of Slade's wrath. Starfire finally gained the courage to confront Robin about her qualms with his presence and her mandatory departure—the end result being heartache for him.

After Starfire had left, Robin had joined her on the roof. She hadn't bothered him for information; she'd instead waited for him to be the one to break the silence. Regardless of whether he'd have chosen to speak or not at that time—she could sense the lingering anguish coming off of him that she didn't need an answer in words to understand what he'd gone through during the confrontation.

He'd chosen to speak—much to her surprise. He'd turned his gaze towards her, a tragic smile displayed on his face in an out of place sort of fashion.

_Star confirmed that she wouldn't be coming back,_ Robin had said in a wavering tone. _She finally managed to tell me to my face—that seeing me constantly haunts her with visions of my death. That—seeing me face to face was almost too anguishing to bear._

_Are you going to be okay?_ Raven had asked him out of concern, resting a palm on his shoulder as some sign of assurance. She recalledhim faltering on answering her for a time. He eventually looked her in the eye to reply.

_Yeah, Rae—I'll be fine._ Robin's answer had been firm—reassuringly so. She'd known from the moment he had spoken those words that he would be fine—no questions about it.

As she looked out across the water she returned to her mantra chanting, resuming her session of meditation that she'd been in the middle of before she'd bothered to interrupt it with her own train of thought.

XoXoX

Robin was in his room, packing for yet another trip to Gotham to interim for his mentor while he was still on the mend. As he was packing, he couldn't help but recall the conversation he'd had with Starfire that day she'd stopped in unexpectedly. He had been anticipating that last conversation as much as he'd been reluctant to finally face it.

She had shown up on the doorstep; Cyborg had been the one to answer and bring her up. Upon arrival, it was notable that she was nervous—her gaze kept shifting around in a way it never used to. To say she was uncomfortable in her own skin at that moment would have probably been an understatement.

Her visit had come as being unexpected; she hadn't even informed Cyborg of her coming by in any of her last communications between him and her. She had just shown up out of the blue—catching surprise upon the faces of the others present when Cyborg had brought her in.

_I have need to speak with Robin privately,_ Starfire had stated in a quiet reserved tone. She'd had difficulty looking his direction as she'd made that statement; it spoke clearly in her nervously made unconscious gestures.

As excruciating as it had been for her to meet up in a room all alone with him—she managed to get herself through it without fainting or running away. He'd taken her up to the privacy of his room shortly afterwards—a trip made in complete silence and awkwardness.

_What did you come to see me about? _Robin had closed the door behind them, recalling that he'd turned his focus towards her. She'd fidgeted some and looked to the floor.

_I needed—to give us the closure,_ Starfire explained quietly, managing the courage to look up at him as she spoke. _I—could not just leave it as it was without ever giving you the proper reasoning as to why I departed in the manner that I did. I needed to face you one last time—so I could completely explain my reasoning to you personally—and not through some other medium._ She'd averted her eyes downwards towards the floor when the last of her words had been spent.

_I see._ Robin recalled that he too looked down towards the floor of his room. The room had fallen into silence for several long, excruciating moments until she managed to speak again.

_Robin…_He had looked up again to notice Starfire was speaking once more. _I still hold deep feelings for you, and I always will, but—it is too excruciating for me to hardly look upon your face without being haunted by those terrible visions of death that I was burdened to witness countless times during my internment in the void of darkness. It pains me to relive those visions over and over of someone of whom I deeply care about—so I choose not to allow myself that opportunity. _She had choked up at that point, sniffling he recalled so clearly. _My hope is that—you will understand my request, and maybe…perchance one day—be able to accept it._

She had looked up at him just then, eyes wide and brimming—what he'd read in them heartbreaking. He'd known that she would be expecting some kind of answer from him, but it had taken him many drawn out moments to gather the nerve to do that.

He looked down at his bag laid out before him, sighing as the memory relayed itself in his consciousness. He couldn't help but recount that moment as he was getting ready to head out again to Gotham to fill in for his still out of commission mentor. As he moved about the room packing things to bring with him, he couldn't help but tread over the spot where he'd stood—looking at her solemnly, where she had stood—pain written on her face in a fashion he'd never imagined.

_I understand—and accept it,_ Robin recalled himself saying to her. _I—I've only ever just…wanted you to be happy, and—if that's the only way you can be happy—is without me…I'll accept that._ Her solemn gaze was met with a tragic smile emerging ever so slowly upon her face.

_Thank you, Robin. _Something genuine began to emerge faintly from within Starfire's tragic smile—the etchings of an ordinary, everyday sort of smile. She for once didn't shift her eyes away from him like she had always done before since the incident. Instead she kept them focused on him. _I must be leaving shortly, but—before I must leave…_She had stepped closer to him, looking at him in a tender yet regretful fashion. She had hesitated before she continued, catching him unawares with her real intentions. The moment had been bittersweet & tender—and too short. When she had departed from him and stepped away, she had looked at him with sadness, sorrow, and remorse. Her tragic emerald green eyes met with his before she spoke again. _I will always love you—but I know in my heart it cannot be._ Her eyes shifted downwardly before she continued. _I hope that you will always be well, and—that you will make sure that Raven always will be as well. _She turned herself to face the door_. I must be leaving—could you show me out one last time?_

Robin had hesitated on answering, knowing well it might be the last time he and she would ever be alone in a room again. The moment had been too short—and too housed with sorrow. He wished it could be different—but he knew all too well that was wishful thinking. Eventually, he managed to answer her.

_Okay Star—I'll show you out this one last time._ Robin finished packing his luggage as that one last moment crossed through his consciousness. So much that followed that had been a blur—up until the moment he'd met up with Raven on the roof after Starfire's departure. He'd taken solace in the fact that she hadn't pressured him for information about his conversation with Starfire. She'd given him space—and she'd given him a moment of silence he'd desperately needed to think.

He recalled during that moment of silence the evoked flashes of that unexpected—yet sweet—kiss that had been exchanged between he and Starfire before she had departed; the recollections—he recalled at the time they had left him with an effect that was bittersweet. The finality of its representation left him sorrowed—but he knew he couldn't dwell on it.

He'd finally turned his gaze towards the girl beside him—he'd recalled. He'd opened up and spilled the words forth to her—she listened without judgment or remark. She only showed concern—asking him if he would be okay.

_She had laid her hand on my shoulder—trying to be reassuring,_ Robin thought to himself as he recalled that evening. Thinking about that night—he looked down at his luggage, all neatly packed up and ready to go. He recalled that he was going to meet that same girl on the roof in a short while—when he was finished with his packing.

_She should be waiting there right now_, he told himself. _Raven—_

_Yeah, Rae—I'll be fine,_ He'd told hadn't questioned it—only seeming to happily accept it.

_Maybe she could tell I was being genuine—_

_I'm sorry that she had to leave on those terms, _Raven had expressed her grief, the smile she soon expressed tinged with it. _If you ever need to talk about it—remember I'm always here for you. I hope you know that._

_Yeah, Rae—I do, _He'd assured her. He'd recalled looking into her eyes—eyes that were both different yet the same as the ones from the girl that had made her departure earlier. Raven would never realize that there ever _could_ _be _similarities between what he saw in her eyes and what he'd seen in Starfire's. It was only something he himself could ever notice.

As he thought over that moment—the flashes where he turned her way to look at her…approach her so that he was standing face to face with her…had leaned in closer to her—he scaled the steps up towards the roof where he knew she'd be waiting.

_She wasn't as shocked when I kissed her that time, as she was that one other time,_ he recalled as he reached the last step before the entryway to the roof. _Of course—it's a little different these days—_

XoXoX

She had been deep in meditation when she caught wind of the turn of a doorknob come from not far off. She quickly opened her eyes and ceased her chant, getting up off the surface of the roof and onto her feet.

_I wonder who that could be—_Raven looked towards the entry to the roof, awaiting the moment the entryway door would swing open and reveal whoever was joining her. The door opened—_Robin._

"Did you bother to pack up anything for the trip—or were you planning to travel lightly?" Robin asked as he proceeded to make his way over to join her.

"My bag's prepared in my room," Raven replied, her attention on him. "So—when do you think we'll be departing?"

"As soon as Cy's got the T-car ready," Robin told her. The sun was low on the horizon in the distance, marking the first signs of the approaching eve. "Which should be anytime; he assured me it would only take a few moments to get in all the last minute adjustments."

"I guess, for the time being…we just wait until then." Raven took a seat on the ledge—dangling her legs off the edge. As he watched her from where he was, he couldn't help but recall the first time they had returned to Gotham following the rescue of their friends from Slade's clutches.

He recalled the rooftop view that overlooked the city of Gotham—a cold and sobering view stretching out, with skyscrapers here and there—the sounds of traffic that had carried from between the crevices created by each of the sky reaching buildings. He recalled the cold brisk breeze of a city still caught in the early moments of a newly emerging spring.

She had been with him that first day out—sharing the cold brisk breeze with him on that rooftop that overlooked the greater downtown of Gotham.

_It was probably smart that I upgraded my arsenal and my identity when I came here to fill in for Bruce until he's well,_ Robin recalled noting to her, while the breeze had grown more crisp and harsh. He recalled turning his attention towards her, asking—_Is the breeze getting to be too cold for you?_

_No—I'm fine with it_, Raven had replied. She had approached his vantage point and had observed the view that lay beyond. _Considering how tough the criminals fight back here—it probably was smart to do that, Robin. About the upgrades to the arsenal and the identity—what made you settle for the choices you went with?_

Gotham was a magnificent city—but it was also a cold, harsh industrial metropolis that held within its confines some of the most hardened criminals that could come to originate in a city of that size—he knew that well. Unlike some of the bumbling villains he and his team had faced in the past back at home, Gotham's breed of villain was harsher, tougher—and more serious. That was what had led to his decision to change his guise while he was filling in for his mentor until he had fully recuperated.

He hadn't been sure if she had liked the new guise or not; he hadn't bothered to ask at the time.

While he stood there watching her, Raven was watching the tides churning below. A slightly chilled evening breeze gently whipped at her hair for a brief moment, bringing back recollections of a time where there had been a similar breeze doing much the same thing—

_What about it makes you ask me that?_ She remembered Robin asking her as she watched him, serious—that reminiscent chilled breeze nipping at her chin and gently shifting her hair.

_I guess I'm just curious where the concept behind Nightwing came from,_ Raven remembered telling him. _It almost seems like you've had that one as a back up somewhere for some time_.

_That's because, Rae—it is_. She recalled Robin smiling at her—the same person she knew behind a different persona. She remembered as she'd looked back at him that she had noticed that the guise seemed almost to have given him an accentuated sense of maturity. A new sense of mystery…_It's been in storage for some time—waiting for just the right moment to be brought out and be put to use_.

Not long after he'd spoken, she recalled that there had been an explosion—a large blast that had sounded from nearby, a plume of smoke that had risen from between two buildings.

_Looks like there's some activity a couple blocks over from here_, Raven recalled what she had said had taken him away from his thoughts. _I'm picking it up as something that should be looked into, and not just because of what I can sense from it_. _Are you going to investigate it alone—or do you want me to join you?_

She recalled the blast occurring not too far from the vicinity of where the Batmobile involved incident had taken place back when they had first arrived in the city looking for answers some months back.

_Do you think you'll be up to it_? Robin had asked her, turning his attention towards her. She remembered the concern written on his face—how the wounds that had haunted him from the night she almost could have died had still been fresh. _From what I can make out from this vantage point—it looks to be some big time hoodlums_.

_Robin—if I can deal with the likes of Slade, I can handle some everyday hardened criminals_, Raven had assured him—rather confidently. _I do have some advantages that most of them don't—after all._ That confidence had only affected his expression a little—not enough to have him not worrying.

_Just promise me then—that you won't allow yourself to get hurt_, Robin had told her. She recalled smiling at him reassuringly.

_You__** really**__ don't have to keep saying that to me, you know_, Raven recalled reminding him. She had shown that with a gesture of resting a reassuring palm on his shoulder as she had stood near him. _I'm tough—I won't let anything get to me—and I won't let anything get to you, injuries to myself included_. She saw flashes of herself gazing down upon the city where the plume of smoke had become a faint trailing. She recalled taking on a more serious tone, looking at him in the same fashion. _We should probably get going—before it becomes too serious._

_Yeah—Rae, we probably should_. Robin too had noticed the smoke plume; she recalled him observing that fact, as she had.

That had been their first case to investigate in the city of Gotham. Both were simultaneously recalling that as they observed the sunset while waiting for their travel vehicle to be readied.

XoXoX

During the last mission the T-Car had received some damage that Cyborg had been certain to tend to at the upmost opportunity. One of Jinx's battle tactics had unfortunately had some repercussions to it that had sent the pavement of the street into a series of reverberations that eventually led to its foundations crumbling beneath it. A portion of the street had sunk completely down into the sewer system below, leaving a large gaping _pothole_ dead center in the middle of the roadway. The T-Car had taken some damage from the resulting repercussion, while it had still been occupied. Fortunately for Cyborg—the street where the T-Car had been located had been spared the indignity of sinking into the depths of the sewer system below.

"The girl's powers are awesome and helpful—but they're also mighty powerful," Cyborg made the observation aloud as he was looking over the engine for any possible permanent damage. "As well as destructive." He was satisfied to find that the engine had remained unaffected by the jostling around the vehicle had endured during that incident.

"Looks to be only superficial damage," Cyborg spotted some dings in the paneling and a few scratches to the hood. One headlight was out—shattered by the little impact the vehicle took as the ground had risen around it. He knew that was an easy fix; he had the replacement reflectors and bulbs in his stored replacement parts.

"I'm gonna have to give that girl a bit of a warning about how she should aim her hexes in the future," Cyborg stated aloud, standing up and examining the finished product. "Good as new," he proclaimed, as he looked upon his creation—his _baby_—with a satisfied grin. "It's gonna be a shame to let ya leave the city after you've been polished and fixed up so nicely. I can only hope they handle ya with care."

He set aside his tools, admired his creation on last time—and then exited the garage to head upstairs.

XoXoX

"I'm sorry I tore up the pavement with my hexes," Jinx exclaimed defensively. "It wasn't like I was aiming for that kind of result—sometimes the effects of my bad luck can be unpredictable."

"Here's hoping the city will cover the tab so we don't have to," Beast Boy stated, taking something from the kitchen with him to the couch. "Cuz we don't need to deal with that kind of repair bill."

"Did I hear y'all mention something about the city and damage control?" Cyborg inquired as he entered the common room. "If that's the case—there's something I've been meaning to bring up with y'all about that."

"Yeah—they're putting the blame on me for all the damages," Jinx claimed, crashing unceremoniously onto an unoccupied portion of the sectional. "It's not like I can help it all the time; my powers can be a little—_unpredictable."_

"I'll say," Kid Flash spoke up, making a sudden speedy entry. "It's a little unsettling when the earth beneath your feet is starting to give way. Even if you just _happen_ to be able to pass over it at light speed."

"What were you going to bring up about it anyways?" Jinx remarked, aiming her inquiry directly at Cyborg. He grinned sheepishly.

"I wanted to advise ya about being a little more careful with your hexes the next time ya use them," Cyborg informed her. "We can't afford to damage the city up too much. Plus—I'd rather ya didn't total my car in one of your next strikes. A few dings and scratches—I can handle that. Total her though…I'll be more than crushed." Jinx rolled her eyes in response.

"I'll make sure to avoid your _baby _the next time—does that sound better?" Jinx remarked. Cyborg nodded satisfactorily. "Can we _not talk_ about the mission for at least a part of the afternoon? All I've heard since we got back is mission this—mission that. My head's going to explode if I hear another word about it."

"I can settle with that," Beast Boy agreed. "I want an afternoon that is only spent with care-free—entertaining thoughts and activities. I'm all missioned out."

"While y'all are preparing to veg—I'm gonna go up and inform Rob that the T-Car is read for them to use," Cyborg stated. "When I get back—we can start up a movie or something, kill the rest of the afternoon with some good ol' fashioned entertainment."

"Sounds like a good plan," Beast Boy approved. "A lot better than having to spend a couple days behind the wheel while going it cross country especially. It's too bad those two have to head out so soon after a tiring mission like this last one was."

"Yeah—well it's their choice," Jinx remarked, swaying one raised finger around loosely in circles. "I'm just glad I'm not the one making the trip."

"I'm going now—see y'all in a bit." Cyborg departed without adding another word to the conversation—which concluded with silence upon his departure.

XoXoX

The sky was becoming darkened with a rich set of rouges and other hues of the approaching night. The moon had cast itself against the ever-transitioning sky—a bright beacon hung high above. The tides reflected the transitions from day towards night, all the while done in silence—save for the sounds of the city across the way.

"It looks like we'll be travelling during the night hours," Raven observed aloud as she continued to watch the tides. "Should make for a long night."

"If you need to, you can rest while I take the wheel," Robin told her, approaching the ledge where she was perched. "We probably won't have the time to make a stop through the evening."

"I'm fine with that," Raven responded, turning to look at him. "The quicker we can make the trip—the better."

"Just think—we won't have to keep this up for much longer," Robin told her. "From what I've been getting in information I've been hearing from back in Gotham—it looks like he'll soon be ready and able to take over his post again."

"Are you going to miss going back to Gotham under your new identity at all?" Raven asked him. "Or are you going to be happy to go back to being just you—this identity?"

He had to think that one over before he could give her a response; due to a lot of the circumstances of Slade's influence on he and his team during their last encounter with him—especially the unpredictable possibilities of him being possessed by his archenemy—it had left him in a spot where he tended to spend more of his solitary time brooding over what had happened, the possibilities it presented for the present—especially the possibility of becoming possessed when he least expected it. He felt like the new identity let him fall back comfortably upon his darkened sense of persona—that it seemed to be a better fit with it somehow over his current one. He couldn't help but think he might be regretful to give it up and settle back into the former—especially after he'd just managed to get used to it—

"I think I will miss being Nightwing," Robin replied, while looking out towards the sea. "I guess…it just feels more comfortable as an identity after all I've been pressured with—am still being pressured with. Will you miss that identity at all—or will you be happy to see it go?" He turned his gaze to meet with hers.

"To tell you the truth…" Raven paused, almost as if she was hesitating on giving him an opinion he wouldn't favor. She then smiled sheepishly, and added, "I like the new persona. It makes you look…darker, edgier—and more mature."

"If that's how you feel about it—I might eventually decide to stick with that one permanently," Robin told her. She contently smiled in response.

"Till eventually then," Raven stated. He nodded.

"Yeah," Robin replied. "Until eventually."

"Hey—y'all ready to take the T-Car for that joyride over to Gotham?" they both turned to notice Cyborg standing nearby—speaking to them. Both got up to face him upon acknowledging him there.

"We've been packed and waiting for a little while now," Robin replied. "We were just waiting around for you to show up to tell us the T-Car was ready for us."

"She took only a little damage—and she's practically good as new," Cyborg replied. He approached them more closely, dangling a keychain in one extended hand. "Just promise me you'll both keep her that way as much as ya can."

"We will," Robin promised, taking the keys from him. "Was there anything else you or anyone else needed before we take off?"

"I think we're all set," Cyborg told him. "We know that if we need 'ya—we know how to contact ya."

"I guess we'll be heading then," Robin stated. He focused on his half robotic friend. "Make sure to keep everything in order while we're gone. I'm counting on you, Cy."

"The city—as well as the team—is as good as secure while you're gone," Cyborg promised. "Ya better get on the road before the midnight hour chooses to set in."

"Thanks," Robin replied. He turned to head towards the exit from the roof, with Raven not far behind him. Cyborg stood in place—watching them head out without bothering to leave himself. He was beginning to smile at that prospect when he noticed Robin came to an abrupt halt. He questioningly observed Robin as he just stood there, as Raven formed a perplexed expression upon her face as she noticed—wondering why Robin had stopped in midstride like he had.

"Was there a reason why you stopped—" Raven halted her questioning in midsentence, eyes widening unexpectedly. "_Robin?"_

"_When I manage to obtain full control of him, I will make you suffer—_Raven, please—" Robin's broken speech had come out in two drastically different tones—one menacing, the other pleading. "Please, Raven—" As she approached him, Raven noticed the tears struggling to make their way down his face. "_It's only a matter of time—_before I lose control over myself."

She stood face-to-face with him, looking at him sympathetically as Cyborg watched in bafflement. She extended her hands out for his—clutching them tightly as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead up against his. By the time she'd taken the moment to stand still and concentrate, Cyborg had grasped the reality of the situation and recognized what was happening.

_Looks like Slade's taking a stab at it again,_ Cyborg thought to himself solemnly as he watched and shook his head sadly. He could only watch as Raven continued to be deep in concentration—trying to free their team leader and friend from the shadowy possession of their arch nemesis. He had seen the attacks happen several times over the past several months. _It's a real pity to see him struggle like this with the likes of Slade. He's just never gonna get a break from him._

"Raven." The softly spoken word from Robin broke the dead silence that had set in during the ordeal. In response, Raven noticeably reacted by quickly opening her eyes and putting some distance between he and she to look him in the eyes.

"Yo—is everything going okay over there?" Cyborg called out in concern. Robin turned his head rapidly towards him.

"Yeah—she managed to break his ties over me in time," Robin replied in a relieved tone. He looked downward, his expression bitter. "I really wish there was a way I could just—rid of him permanently."

"I think we all do man," Cyborg replied. "At least Raven can suppress him back into the place where he belongs for a time anyways."

"I'm thankful for that fact at least," Robin stated, looking at the girl again. "Ready to head for real this time?" He asked her.

"I think so," Raven replied, sounding just slightly uncertain. He dared not to notice her uncertainty—or was innocently oblivious to it. He just quickly gave a nod, looked over at Cyborg once more, and then resumed his pace as if nothing had halted him in the first place.

Raven continued at a more hesitated pace than before; Cyborg noticed she trailed behind their departing leader with a little more distance put between them as he watched them both make their way towards the rooftop exit.

_Here's hoping ya have a decent time in Gotham, _Cyborg thought to himself as he momentarily thought about their departure, and then he quickly turned his attention to the failing daylight and the city preparing itself for the primetime across the way. With a smile on his face, he stood there, enjoying the moment of silence for what it was.


	28. Gotham Knights

_**Heapings of apologies for the long delay. I've been working tirelessly (when I have had the chance in my busy life) on another story that I wanted to finish before I posted this story's last chapter. Yep, you heard it right: this is the last chapter, so I hope you enjoy it, and overall enjoyed the story. It's been a long time in coming, but Darkness Eclipses the Light has reached the end.**_

**_Thanks for reading, and I hope to maybe start another RobRae or TT project sometime in the future. Thanks for all the comments, likes and those who have read this and kept up with it. I appreciate it._**

**_Now, on to the story!_**

XoXoXoXoX

Chapter 28: Gotham Knights

The hour was later, darkness having set in as Robin watched the road that lay ahead. The engine hummed, a noise that would usually be muffled under the sounds of the daytime traffic. It was nighttime—the traffic on the road was sparse. The only noises Robin had to rely on at that hour was that humming of the engine, the occasional vehicle passing by, the light noise of music coming from the radio, and the light steady breathing rhythms from Raven sleeping in the back seat.

She had been silent in slumber for a couple hours; he had relied on his own thoughts and recollections to keep him busy as he continued driving on into the depths of night.

As he drove, he recalled their first visit with his mentor just after Raven's recovery and the rest of the team had settled in. His mentor had still at that point remained unconscious; his injuries had been severe enough where the doctors had _had_ to induce him into a coma until the pain he was in had healed up enough to be tolerable. It was just about up until they made that visit that his mentor was well enough to be conscious.

He remembered that he and Raven had been waiting in the waiting area, standing close to one another as they wait to be shown in. While they had been waiting, she had been giving him reassurances that things were going to brighten up.

_I guess I wasn't as hopeful as she was,_ He thought to himself as he watched the road. _Maybe I should've been—_

_I thought I should inform you that your father is conscious. _Both had moved away from each other in alarm as they collected themselves and noticed one of the nursing assistants was standing there—had been the one to speak and startle them.

_He's—alert?_ He recalled the shock in his voice during that moment—the shock that registered on Raven's face when he had turned to face her.

_Yes._ The nurse assistant confirmed optimistically. _He's very much alert—and he's been asking for you._

_Does he want to see me __**now**__?_ He remembered exclaiming, and getting a firm nod in return. The nursing assistant had smiled reassuringly, given a few words and gestures to them both—and led them back into the room they had just departed not long before that.

The memory of them reaching that doorway and passing through it to reveal the fact that his mentor was in fact alert had played for him in slow motion as he was recalling it in detail; up until the moment his eyes had landed on the bruised yet expressive face of his mentor it seemed as if real-time was deliberately trying to be sluggish.

Robin recalled that as he and Raven stood there in the presence of his newly alert mentor that he'd been nervous, as the prolonged silence had set in for an unusually extended period of time.

_Is it okay to speak freely in front of the girl with you, Richard? _Bruce had finally addressed him. He remembered turning his attention towards that _girl—_Raven—before turning it back to Bruce.

_Raven's trustworthy—she's a close friend, and one of my teammates,_ he'd assured him. Bruce seemed to loosen some of his tension at that assurance.

_Can you tell me what happened—what exactly led me to being this injured in the first place?_ Bruce had inquired. Robin at first hadn't known where to even start explaining. Before he could bother to open his mouth to utter a reply, Raven was already explaining everything to him.

_After she finished—Bruce had admitted that he didn't recall much about what had happened between the time he was abducted and when he woke up,_ Robin observed to himselfas he watched the quiet highway ahead of him. _Pretty much all he could say was—'The only thing I really recall before everything went black was being in pain and completely shrouded in shadows'._

Robin remembered distinctly how Bruce had shown how grateful he was to Raven after he'd made note to his mentor that she had healed him up enough to save his life while Robin had been out calling for help when Bruce had been discovered in the way he was known to show it. Raven had acknowledged her efforts—but had insisted that she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

_Whether or not she wanted to be acknowledged for her efforts—I won't forget what she did for him anytime soon, _Robin thought to himself as he looked back at her in the mirror—sleeping peacefully.

_It'll probably be a while before you'll be fully recovered, _Robin remember saying to him. Bruce apparently had been all too aware of that fact—even then.

_The nurse informed me when I came to about the extent of my injuries,_ Bruce had noted. Robin recalled his expression being serious and otherwise mostly nondescript. _I know there have been a few bone fractures that will take time to heal, torn and stretched tendons and ligaments that I'll have to go through physical therapy to retrain, and a period of reconditioning before I can be up to where I need to be in order to return to my work. That could take matter of months—I realize that._

As the night darkened highway loomed before him, Robin recalled Bruce asking him to watch over the city until he was well enough to tend to it himself. Robin had accepted the responsibility from him without question that day.

Still weary with injury, Bruce had needed some time to rest after only a short visit. As Robin presently kept an eye on the road, he remembered he and Raven leaving the room to give his mentor some peace and quiet, her asking about the Dark Knight's request, and the answer he had to give her.

_It's my duty to fill in for him while he's incapacitated._ Raven hadn't questioned him about it; she seemed to have gotten it then—understood it without a doubt.

She only answered with a simple reply. She had looked at him; her answer already clear in her eyes before she even spoke the words—_I understand._

It was only after they had left the city and returned home did she say anything more about it.

An evergreen sign off to the side read that there was an exit only a few more miles down the road. He looked to the fuel gauge and noticed the needle was pointing towards empty.

_It's probably a good time to stretch anyways,_ he told himself. He looked in the mirror aimed towards the backseat—noticing that the girl back there was still fast asleep.

_Rae—I thought you were heading off to bed. _ He vividly remembered opening the door to his bedroom to see her waiting there. _Is something up?_

_I wanted to speak with you about a couple things,_ Raven had told him. Insistently, she pointed inwardly into his room through the door. _Can I come in?_

He recalled nodding, and then showing her in. The first words that spilled from her lips he remembered distinctly—almost like he was reliving them just the same as the first time he'd witnessed hearing them—

_If you're going to be going back to Gotham to fill in for Bruce—I will be going with you,_ she had said.

_Gotham can get pretty dangerous—are you certain it wouldn't be better if you stayed here and I go? _The expression on Raven's face when he'd told her that had been purely questioning—troubled.

_If you have one of those possessive attacks while you're on the patrol—and I'm not there to reverse the effect—Robin, you wouldn't be doing Bruce any favors if you ended up possessed by Slade and did the polar opposite of what you were set to do in Gotham._ Her eyes—he remembered Raven's eyes reflecting more concern within them than he could've recalled anytime before. She'd stood there, watching him with those concerned eyes—_Plus, I wouldn't be able to relax if I have to worry about whether that might happen to you or not._

He couldn't recall why he'd been so protective of her at the time when he knew well enough she could take care of herself. As he remembered her looking at him—and himself looking back at her—he recalled his feeling of reluctance toward her going along, her possibly getting hurt. It was when her small palm had come to rest gingerly at the side of his face did those senses start to feel numbed.

_Rae—_he recalled pausing as he looked at her, the guilt welling within him at trying to deny her the opportunity to accompany him. Her other palm had managed to find itself on the opposite side of his face from her other palm. He had let a gasp escape—followed up with a sigh and the sense of crumbling to giving in. _You're right—it might be better if you came along with me when I leave again for Gotham._

_You really should be worried about yourself—and not me._ Raven had gazed up at him as she spoke, eyes serious and direct. _I can take care of myself—you should know that by now._

_I know that you can._ She had smiled contentedly when he'd spoken that.

_One mile to the next exit—_

_That night—she hadn't just shown up to talk to me about returning to Gotham, _he noted to himself as he thought about that night. _Whether she'd planned it that way from the beginning or not—it wasn't that simple._

_Do you think I could_—_stay here with you tonight? _He remembered he hadn't been prepared to hear that question from her. He'd visibly jerked enough to make her react as well—pulling herself back away from him some. He had been at a loss for words for several excruciatingly long moments; the resulting tension in the air could have been sliced through with a knife.

After the tension had almost become too much to bear, he finally had given her an answer—_yes._ As he thought more about that evening he checked the mirror again to see her asleep—so peacefully nestled in slumber in her makeshift _bed._

_So beautifully peaceful—_

_We'll be reaching the fueling station in a little while, _he noted to himselfas he continued to recall what had happened beyond that _yes_.

_Flash—she was watching him with a contented gaze, suspended in time—_

_Flash—his hand had nestled itself against her jaw line—_

_Flash—her hands were back up to the sides of his face, while his had relocated to her waist—_

_Flash—he was slowly lowering his face to meet with hers—_

_Flash—the sensation of the contact made as the space between them had become nonexistent—_

_Flash—the realization that neither one of them wanted for it to remain simple, innocent—_

He ran it through his memory as the illumination against the night of the signs of civilization drew near. He recalled how they'd taken to his bed, how things had developed from there. He recalled then how exhausted she'd been—how she'd almost instantly fallen asleep right beside him. He remembered still being alert while she'd fallen into slumber—how he'd watched her as she drew in each breath softly and evenly. Her hair had been splayed out on the pillow below her resting her head, the moonlight highlighting the silhouette of her face, her shoulder—

She stirred as he pulled into the drive of the gas station.

"How long have we been on the road?" Raven groggy voice spoke up from the back. As he pulled the car up to the pump, Robin looked back at her.

"Several hours," Robin replied. "Are you feeling refreshed—or still tired?"

"I think I've had enough sleep for now." Raven reclined into a sitting position. "Are we parked for the time being?"

"Yeah—we're running on empty, so I have to refuel the tank," Robin informed her. "If you need anything—food, drink, a walk—now would be the time to get it."

"Where are we exactly?" Raven asked, reaching for the latch to open the door nearest to her.

"We're just on the other side of the mountain range," Robin informed her. "So—did you need anything from the convenience store while we're here?"

"Something to keep the mind occupied, and something to tide me over until we come across something more sustainable down the way," Raven replied. "Want me to grab you something while I'm in there?"

"I'd love it if you grabbed something caffeinated for me—and whatever they have on heated up—a burger, slice of pizza—something like that. You know what I like."

"Yes, I do," Raven replied. "I'll be back in a few." She entered the near vacant convenient store while he refueled the T-Car. He watched her all the while

XoXoX

When she had returned to the car, she had insisted on getting behind the wheel—insisting he needed to take some time to rest.

_I can take it from here._ Robin couldn't protest, he knew it; when Raven had a point—he just couldn't argue it.

He decided to make the trip in the front passenger seat, not needing to take a nap in the back like she had during most of the trip. He was too awake and alert to rest up; he instead kept his eyes on the road and a conversation with her.

"Are you sure you're alert enough to drive at this hour?" Robin asked her. She had been behind the wheel only a few miles from the exit. She turned her attention partially towards him, keeping most of it focused on the road.

"I got in a good several hours of rest, Robin," Raven told him. "I should be fine."

"Do you know the direction we're heading—the roads we need to take?" Robin asked her.

"We've made this trip a few times before," Raven told him. "I've got a pretty decent memory—I should be able to remember where we need to go. Why do you need to question it?"

"No reason, I apologize for being so pushy," Robin replied. He silently watched the darkened landscape pass the by on the highway side. She kept her eyes on the road.

A few hours passed; the hour of sunrise was growing near. The horizon was starting to gain some definition of color and light in the distance. They were in the middle of a long stretch of rural highway, signs of civilization kept at a near minimum. There were only a few signs and vehicles passing them by from either side—coming or going—that spoke of life outside the type of the rural setting.

Off to the side of the highway lay an exit to a scenic overlook. Raven took him by surprise when she made a turn towards the exit at the last minute.

"Why are you pulling off here?" Robin exclaimed at her. "We don't really have time to go sightseeing."

"I'm not doing this for the sights, Robin," Raven calmly told him. "It's for something more serious." She didn't explain it past that—and he didn't take the opportunity to question it further.

He at first had suspected that she'd made the turn for some form of romantic venture, but he would soon discover that wasn't so. She parked the T-Car in a vacant spot—a parking lot that was filled with vacant spots. They were the only two souls present at that hour on that side of the road scenic overlook, which at the time they pulled in he almost took for granted. He would come to be thankful for that fact not too long after—and her efforts in parking them there for that matter.

He followed her out and away from the vehicle as she made her way towards the point of the scenic overlook. She perched herself on the rocky platform overlooking the scenery that stretched out before them. The sky in the distance was etched with the outlines of amber and rouge, as the sun's efforts to light the horizon grew stronger. He watched her hair whip around her face as she kept her eyes focused on the rising sun. Her face was out of view of his—even as he came to join her.

"Why did you bring us here?" Robin asked her. She didn't speak; she kept her focus on the horizons ahead of her. "Rae? Raven—can you answer me?"

"You'll learn why in a few moments." Raven didn't turn to him as she spoke; she kept her face turned away. He was about to question what she meant when he felt something lingering over him—darkening him from within as it attempted to access him and take control. As he felt the dread of the darkened essence trying to overtake him—she finally turned to him, tears caught in her eyes.

She grasped his hands in hers and bowed her head, leaning her forehead up against his with her eyes closed as she was caught up in a depth of concentration. All the while he felt the lingering darkness on his soul retreating, as she continued to be caught in concentration. Once the darkness was completely dispelled from his mind, body and soul, she stilled her concentration and let up her head to look up at him.

"He was going to make another attempt at controlling you, and—I couldn't have that," Raven spoke softly as she looked at him. "Especially if you were behind the wheel."

"Rae—how did you even _know?" _Robin exclaimed as he watched her, as the sun was rising in the distance. "How were you able to figure when Slade would make his next strike—that far in advance?"

"I just recently have found…that I can," Raven replied. "Now do you understand why _I_ took the wheel—why _I _chose to pull over to this scenic outlook when I did?"

"Yeah—I do now Rae," Robin stated. "I'm thankful for you doing that for me."

"Can we take a moment—to just…take in the view while you fully recover?" Raven asked him. "I—I don't think it's quite safe to say yet that he's been pushed out completely _just yet._"

"I guess right now would be a good time for a break," Robin told her. "We can stand here and watch the sun rise until you feel its safe to get back on the road again."

"Thank you, Robin." She smiled softly and genuinely, lit brilliantly by the amber rays of the uprising sun. It was at that moment he really understood just how he _really_ felt about her. He knew it wasn't just a might, or about—he knew that he fully was. As he looked at her—he knew that he completely was.

"Rae—I don't think that I might just love you—I know that I love you," Robin told her as he watched her on that silent outlook—just the two of them. He watched as the wind whipped her hear around her face—the new day's light highlighting it with shades of amber ever so slightly. She spoke not a word, showed not a shift in her expression; she just—kept watching him.

"Robin—I've known all along that you love me," Raven told him. "Even though you didn't completely come out and say it." She bowed her head for a moment as she took his hands in her grasp again. She then looked up at him again. "Remember—I can sense things other people aren't able to."

"I didn't forget—I just figure it's better to validate it vocally," Robin told her. At that hour—even with the brilliant sunrise presenting itself on the horizon before them—it wasn't that view that caught his awareness. For all he cared—it could still be the dead of night and his focus would be centered on one sight—her.

He always loved a good sunrise, but right at that moment—he was only aware of something he loved more. The girl who stood before him—whose focus was much like his, for many of the same reasons.

Ignoring the rising sun, he brought her to him, with her being the only focus of his in the world—for that sunlit moment in time, free of shadows & darkness


End file.
